


The Waiting Game

by Surayo



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Extended Dragon War, F/M, Gray Hiccup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-04-14 06:29:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 92,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14130105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Surayo/pseuds/Surayo
Summary: AU. Two words change everything and extend the Dragon War for years while Hiccup waits to become Berk's chief to end the war on his terms. Hicstrid.





	1. Chapter 1

“No, no it totally makes sense, it’s like a giant beehive, they’re the workers and that’s is their queen, it controls them!” Astrid said while dismounting Toothless and starting to run towards the village “Let’s find the chief!”

“No!” Hiccup dismounted his friend and chased the blonde Viking girl stopping her with his arms “Not yet Astrid, they’ll kill Toothless… We have to think this thru carefully” he told her trying to make her understand why they couldn’t tell anyone what they just found.

“Hiccup, we just discovered the dragon’s nest, the thing we been after since Vikings sailed here… and you wanna keep it a secret?” Astrid said with disbelief “To protect your pet dragon, are you serious?!”

He was about to say Yes, but then a mental image of his father, the chief, guiding Berk’s warriors to the nest, all of Berk’s warriors fighting that giant dragon made him think again “It’s not just Toothless!” Hiccup said with desperation, he knows his male parental unit, Stoick “The Vast” Haddock is a great Viking and warrior, but he is obsessed with the nest.

Astrid took notice of the anxiousness on Hiccup’s voice, he wasn’t lying either, he is a horrible liar, there was something else… another reason to why he wanted to keep the nest a secret, she said nothing, waiting for an explanation.

“Astrid…” he said and sighted “the chief… my dad, if he discovers where the nest is…” Hiccup put his hands on his head and pulled his hair slightly, he could see the burning ships and catapults and his tribe mates stuck on that island with that dragon, swords and axes will not do a thing against that monster “He would lead the tribe to that thing, and there is no way they could kill it, they would all die!.”

“You don’t know that” she said, of course the chief would want to attack the island, but he wouldn’t actually charge without a plan.

“No” Said Hiccup grimacing “I actually do know that” charge straight in, the Viking way, his father loves it.

“There is no way Stoick would just sail there if you tell him what the size of that dragon is!” Astrid tried to make Hiccup see reason, his dad is a great chief, he would not lead the tribe to its death.

“He would Astrid… he would” he said, sadness dripping on his voice but the he switched his tone to imitate that of his father “A Viking can tame the seas and move mountains if he wants too, a big dragon won’t be a problem!” Hiccup looked at Astrid desperate to make her understand and was rewarded with a look of uncertainty entering the warrior, that was after all his dad’s favorite phrase and never grew tired of it “I told him I wanted to enter the dragon training but he never listened to me… then I shot down Toothless and couldn’t kill him and asked my dad to not enter me into the training, that I wasn’t a dragon killer” he looked away from her and watched his best friend looking at them, probably trying to decipher what in Hel they are talking about judging by his expression “and now I’m going to fight a Monstrous Nightmare tomorrow because he doesn’t listen!” he said with resentment, he knew his father doesn’t really listen to him when they talk, but explaining it to the blonde was actually painful, but it was worth it, because Astrid was beginning to understand.

“So, our options are a quick death on the nest or watching or friends and family die over the years?” she asked sitting on the ground “This is so messed up”

“Thanks for summing that up”

She glared at him, how he dares to make comments like that in a situation like this! “You should be thinking of some way to tell the chief without him sailing for the nest instead of being a smartass!” that shut him up and made her feel better, but it didn’t solve their problem, she continued to watch him, hoping for him to find a way to tell his dad about the nest without condemning the tribe to death. She continued observing him until he sat himself and looked at the ground between his legs.

“There is a way…”

She breathed relieved to know that, yes, there is a way to solve this problem, but Hiccup stopped talking, but by the look on her face she knew he was thinking about it so she decided to wait until he finished making his plan, but she was not really the most patient Viking around “And that way is? Come on Hiccup tell me what we must do already!” but his silence continued and this time she didn’t waited even half of the time before snapping again “Come on Hiccup you won’t solve this problem just sitting and waiting!” did she heard him laugh?

“Maybe not by sitting and waiting Astrid” he said bitterly, it was ironic in Hiccups opinion “But if we just wait… I’ll be the chief in a few years” he told her, in a subconscious level he always knew that been his father’s son made him the Heir to the tribe, he will be the chief once his father retires, but he had been so distracted in the past to notice, always trying to get his father’s approval because it was the most important thing in the world to him… but recently that wasn’t all that was keeping him distracted, flying with Toothless and exploring was just so wonderful… but that was something that a chief can’t do, he knows that well, a chief must protect his own, care for them and help them with their problems the way his father does… he doesn’t want to be the chief, he wants to fly and explore the world on Toothless back.

But if he flies away then whoever ends up as the chief instead of him, Snotlout most likely, will keep fighting the dragons and searching for the nest and the war will continue for yet another generation and it would last until there were no Vikings left to defend Berk.

The dragons will definitely outlast the Vikings, he just returned from their island and their sheer numbers would guarantee their survival, and if a quest to find their home succeeds… well that would accelerate his tribe’s demise.

As the chief Hiccup would have the chance to stop the war… Killing the one dragon that matters, The Queen.

Astrid could only look at Hiccup with her mouth slightly open, what he said was technically true, but, when anyone in Berk thinks about Hiccup as the Heir to the tribe it is usually accompanied with the thoughts that sooner or later Snotlout would take the position away from him because he was more Viking-ly than the small skinny boy, stubborn and violent and maybe he will grow in intelligence with time… Hiccup never looked like chief material, he couldn’t swing a sword the war hammers are too heavy for him and he sucks at fighting dragons, except of course, that he somehow ended with the privilege to kill his first dragon in front of the tribe… wait, wait, wait. Wasn’t he going to flee to not have to kill that dragon when she found him this afternoon? ”It means you are going to stay on Berk?” her answer came in the form of his nodding head “You think you can kill that dragon?” it had to be asked.

“I’ll think of something, and if I fail, at least I won’t destroy the village in the process” Said Hiccup, it was true, he has a few years before his dad has to retire, five or six years, that is enough time to think of some way to kill that thing and with him giving the orders it wouldn’t be an all or nothing kind of thing.

‘This is good’ Astrid thought while taking a deep breath, Hiccup doesn’t have to Kill the dragon, just show it to the village in a way that won’t end it in the process and there is one more thing in his favor, she thinks he can do it… he shot down a Night Fury by the Gods! Except there is a little detail that he may not be taking in consideration “Are you going to Kill that Monstrous Nightmare tomorrow? Because if you want to be Berk’s chief you have to kill dragons” yes dragons, in plural, the village likes him right now because they think he is good fighting dragons, and his plan involves a lot of waiting, he cannot spend all that waiting time without killing dragons or the village will want Snotlout or someone else instead, someone that can kill dragons, like Stoick, like Spitelout… Like Her? Could she kill a dragon after flying on Toothless’ back? She could choose not to, but if Hiccup is serious about becoming the chief he won’t have that luxury “Berk’s chief has to kill a lot of dragons”

Hiccup heard her question, but didn’t know what to respond, his eyes moved to Toothless, the dragon was so intelligent and expressive, he was like a person to him, are other dragons like him? Are they only doing this because of that Giant on their island? Would killing the Queen really stop the Raids? It is their best shot to end the war “Hey Bud? Are you friend with the other dragons? If they attack us can I kill them?”

The Night Fury walked towards his little human, his green eyes locking with his own, he has been following his talk with the female, he may not understand everything that was said but there were a few things he understands:

They want to kill Her and he wants her dead too, now that he no longer fears her control over him, he wants her dead.

His little human wants to be the human Alfa, the one they call chief, he likes that, but to be the Alfa he must kill dragons.

Toothless doesn’t like that idea, but as a downed dragon who can only visit the skies with his little human on his back… yes, Toothless has thrown his lot with the humans, the other dragons only come to this island when She wants food anyway, his little human will be fighting for his people, that is something any Alfa must do.

Astrid couldn’t contain herself and laughed at the dragon licking Hiccups face without a care in the world “I think he is OK with it” she said while Hiccup tried to remove the dragon’s saliva from his face. He had a small smile on his lips and a determined look on his eyes, he will do it.

He will do it, he won’t like it but he will do it, he has to because is the only way his people will survive, and maybe with the Queen gone, they could at least have peace with the dragons and if there are more of them like Toothless maybe even adopt them, that won’t be easy. He could not help himself and stared at Astrid, she had a serene smile now and she was more relaxed now that they have a plan “I’ll need your help though” there is no way he can do it alone and she is the only one he trust, besides he kind of has a crush on her but that is totally unrelated.

“Of course I’ll help… you…” she started talking really animated, how could she not? The future chief was asking for her help. But then she remembered why she was so pissed this afternoon, she did not won the right to kill her first dragon in front of the tribe… without that honor, her father will start taking offers for her hand and sooner or later she will be married to someone in the tribe, most likely someone a lot older than her, lads around her age don’t have the resources to provide for a wife and children and she will end locked up in some household doing chores for her husband. Great, now she was angry at Hiccup for ruining her plans to enjoy freedom for a few more years.

“Are you alright?” Hiccup asked noticing the switch in his human companion mood. She went from happy to pensive to angry in the spam of two seconds.

‘It is fine’ she thought, ‘It isn’t his fault’ he was competing just like everyone else, and he won, it is his right, not hers ‘He did nothing wrong’ even if it was not by traditional methods he still won “Yes, I’m fine and ill help you for as long as I can” she said smiling to reassure him.

“For as long as you can? What do you mean?”

‘Stupid boy’ She thought, she didn’t want to talk about it but he was looking at her just waiting for an answer, and he was not looking away apparently… “Look Hiccup, It is a matter of time before someone comes to my father with a betrothal contract and…” she could not finish her phrase looking at his eyes, she was hurting and apparently so was him “and I doubt my husband will want me spending time with another man and if I’m with a child…” she doubted she would ever be a man’s little wife spending all of her time inside his household, but she at least owed the man she will end up with some respect and there was no way out of motherhood in this Island.

Hiccup knew that of course, every woman in Berk must have children or they would not survive, no exceptions, not even for a warrior as skilled as Astrid, but he forgot about that until now. Other girls married at thirteen or as young as twelve years old but Astrid and Ruffnut are both fifteen years old, it won’t be long before they are taken by someone and when someone marries Astrid he will lose his only confidant… “What if My Dad makes an offer for You?” he can’t lose her like that! Hopefully it is dark enough to cover his blush and she heard him loud and clear because he is not saying that again!

He did not say that just now, there was just no way had he said it! “Look Hiccup, you are Berk’s Heir, I doubt the chief will want the niece of Finn “Frozen” Hofferson as his in-law, and you are my age, there is just no way!” oh it would be so easy, but she comes from a clan with a lot of shame on its back and Hiccup would be too young to marry anyway.

“You are the best young Shield Maiden in the Island and a great Viking all around and why is my age any problem, I have my trade and apparently I’m great at fighting dragons and if Ask my dad now he would probably say yes” it could be done, he was sure of it, his dad was so happy thinking about how he would kill his first dragon tomorrow that he might grant him this wish, and besides, next year he will no longer be the Blacksmith apprentice but his assistant, he does a lot of forge work already, Gobber is just taking his sweet time promoting him.

“Alright Dragon-boy” Astrid said with an empty smile “If you get your dad to make an offer there is no way my father won’t accept it” it was true, Hiccup already has a trade and could provide for her, but the fact of the matter was, the chief might not want to be associated with a clan with so many stains as hers, it all depended on Stoick “So how are you going to kill that dragon tomorrow?” she wanted to talk about something else, she didn’t have high hopes about the contract.

“I have an idea I’m sure will work, but I need a few things I need to get before the fight… tomorrow you should wear a dress, I’ll give you the Nightmare’s horns” He said with a smile, he just got the girl he likes to basically say that she would marry him, he would definitely get his dad to make that contract, tomorrow before the fight if everything goes well, and if his dad says no he would make him say yes later, and soon.

“Are you crazy?!” Astrid asked alarmed, the horns of a Monstrous Nightmare are just a symbol of the real gift: the whole carcass, it would be hers to do as she liked, to take it’s skin and other parts and sell it to Johann next time he sails to Berk and the carcass of a Nightmare was worth a lot, it was also a way to show interest, they would practically be courting after that, and that was… well, dangerous for him if something happens her dad can kill him! And it is not necessary for something to happen, someone just have to say something happened! It was madness.

He gave her a deadpan look, and then petted Toothless, he rides a Night Fury that should count as crazy. She laughed again “I need your help Astrid, I really do”

“Ok then, I’ll wear that stupid dress” she said with much more confidence this time, she really hoped Stoick to agree, it would save them so much trouble.

0x0x0

Stoick “The Vast” Haddock, Chief of Berk had a long but pleasant day, he had talked with his Son whom was finally showing the signs of a great dragon fighter and then helped to set the Kill Ring ready for tomorrow’s fight were his son would kill his first dragon in presence of the entire tribe, his chest was swelling with pride!

After that he took care of some of the problems that appeared while he was away, a couple of sheep escaped from their flocks and had to be found, determined the ownership of a yak that was disputed between two of his tribe’s men by taking it to be slaughtered and donated to the Mead hall kitchen, sometimes it was easier to do that than determining he owner of the animal, especially when one of the belligerents is not Mildew.

Finally he had eaten and went to sleep, tomorrow will be such a great day he couldn’t wait for it to start!

Of course, some things are not meant to be, because someone was poking him with a stick! He used his massive hand to bat it away, but the offending object returned immediately to it’s labor insisting on awakening him, so he caught it and sat down on his bed glaring at the one manipulating it.

It was Hiccup!

“You better have a good excuse for waking me up in the middle of the night!” and it was still night, there was a candle lit in the room that would be unnecessary if it was daytime.

His son smiled uncomfortably, but spoke anyway “You haven’t set a marriage contract for me yet have you?” he was hopeful, and no he hasn’t, he was too busy making sure he didn’t hurt himself to do that.

“Not really, but since you’ll be killing your first dragon tomorrow maybe I should” he has always waken up with a lucid mind, a life of nocturnal dragon raids would do that to a man.

“Good because I want Astrid Hofferson” well the lass wasn’t a bad Viking but there were just so many stains on that clan…

“I was thinking of getting you someone from another island” it would be better, his son needs a wife from a good clan.

His son snorted “Someone like Brunhilda Thorston?” he asked sarcastically, that woman was not the best example to give, what with her offsprings being spawns of Loki and all “I don’t need a wife that will run around like a headless chicken when the dragons raid Dad!.”

“Come on son not every woman will be the same” and that was true, Ticknut Thorston was just… unlucky.

“Why take the risk? Astrid is perfect and if it wasn’t for me she would have won Dragon Training” sure the lass did good in training but was that enough?

Ah! Why the Hel not? His son wants her and he just made him so proud of him in the arena today he deserves it, and it was time he did something to help the Hoffersons anyway, sighting and with a smile he finally nodded his head and looked at his son noticing he looked like he just gotten home with his fur vest sporting a few wet spots from outside’s drizzle “You been with her until now?” he asked, this was serious, if the Einar hears of this Hiccup would be in trouble. He just nodded “Did something happened?” he would have to admit the lass was a lot more cunning than what he gave her credit for but she was endangering his son!

“We just talked” Hiccup defended himself and her, he was calm at least, but he was no fool.

But he had to make sure nothing happened “Can she still wear her kransen?” Hiccup just blushed and nodded, that was a relief “I’ll go talk with her father tomorrow then” his son smiled and it made his hearth feel good to see him smiling.

“Do you have a plan for tomorrow’s fight?” he really hoped so!

Everyone that stayed on the Berk keeps telling him how good Hiccup is in the ring but he cannot help but fear for him.

A/N: This is my first fic on this fandom and English is not my first language so if you spot any error or something please let me know I’ll correct it just let me know.

Now about the story, I’ve read other fics such as Hitchups by The Antic Repartee and Becoming Lífþrasir by Midoriko-sama and Prodigal Son by commandocucumber where Hiccup runs away and returns to save the day, and I’ve also read a few fics where Hiccup stays and helps with some variant to the AU, good examples of this are The Blacksmith Apprentice by HarryPanther, Earn it by MidwestMexican and a few others I don’t remember right now(sorry). But I’ve never read a fic where Hiccup actually stays and fights the dragons.

I know that the core of Hiccup’s character goes against this but if put on a situation like this were he suffers an epiphany like the one I described it may be enough to make him stay and fight.

The trigger for this are two words, in the film Astrid wants to tell Stoick about the nest but she uses the words “Your Dad” in here she says “The chief” it is a small change but it helps Hiccup to see Stoick in two different lights: as a chief and as a father.

He doesn’t seek approval from the chief so he can anticipate his dad’s actions with frightening accuracy for plot convenience and he decides not to risk his tribe.

At this point Hiccup has interacted with Toothless, the dragons in the arena and a few terrible terrors, sure they treated him better but they are not his people, and there are a lot more of them than there is of Vikings, hence the Vikings need him more.

About Hicstrid, I always felt feelings came second in this kind of marriage, especially among Vikings, and about Astrid and every female born in Berk having to marry and mother a child… well they are fighting a war and they need soldiers, it is sexist as Hel but it makes sense…

The rating of the fic will change to M in a few chapters but I’ll warn you in advance, don’t think there will be any lemons but there will be some blood and mutilations, this is a HTTYD fic after all, they are canon :P

Btw comments are appreciated ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**I still don’t own HTTYD, but I own a Blue-ray of the first movie, it makes me feel better.**

Does he have a plan for tomorrow? Of course he does, but it is mostly based on observations made on Toothless and the dragons in the arena’s behavior, it was a far cry from a perfect plan but at least he won’t be entering the Kill Ring just hoping for the best.

Hoping for the best was just half of the plan now.

“That dragon won’t know what hit him!” if everything goes as planned, of course ‘Please All-father Odin, let it all go as planned!’

His Dad smiled at him, it felt wrong to have him smiling that way while he keeps the dragon’s nest location a secret, and having him agree with the betrothal contract with the Hoffersons only reinforces the point he made with Astrid earlier that night: his dad loves the Viking way.

Chuckling Stoick put his massive hand on his son’s shoulder and shook it slightly “Good, now go to sleep, tomorrow will be a day to remember!”

Smiling and trying to ignore his thoughts about the nest Hiccup took his candle and walked to his dad’s door remembering something else about tomorrow “Dad, are you going to offer the contract before or after the fight?” because giving Astrid the dragon’s horns would be a lot less awkward if they were already betrothed.

Giving her the carcass was his plan “B”, if his dad said no tonight starting to court Astrid would have put some pressure on Stoick and Astrid’s dad, either one would have to step up and propose the marriage, because all of the tribe would be watching.

His dad seemed to think about it for a moment before smiling like the cat that eat the canary, maybe… it’s not easy to know with that massive beard of his “I’ll go before the fight and then we can announce the betrothal after you kill that dragon!”

Good, not the part were Hiccup has to kill the dragon, he wishes there was another way to do this, a way where he doesn’t has to end the magnificent creature… but Astrid was right there: Berk’s chief has to kill dragons.

“Ok dad, see you tomorrow!” he said closing the room’s door as he walked out and approached the hearth where a pot with boiling water waited for him. Before coming back home he collected some of the grass Toothless loves, he figured the cause of that love was the smell of it.

He dropped a good portion of the grass in the pot to boil with the water and waited until the smell became more noticeable to look for a linen bandage the kept close to the table in case they needed to clean something with it, he smelled the fabric and luckily it was mostly clean, he dropped it inside the recipient so it could be impregnated with the smell all of the dragons he encountered so far seemed to love.

Removing the pot from the flames so it can cool down he took a look at the spear he got from the smithy, it was a normal spear, a long oak shaft and a small but sharp spearhead fastened on one end ready to strike. The spear was the one real weapon he can handle, that is the weapon he will use tomorrow, a small modification hopefully will transform it into a dragon slaying machine.

Or he hoped so!

0x0x0

Einar Hofferson woke up with the sun as every morning, his wife Ingrid occupying the left side of their bed like she always does, and she is waking up as well, which was strange.

She usually wakes up a few minutes before him so she could start with breakfast so he could eat something before he goes out for the day, she noticed him staring at her and seemed to take offense, it wasn’t as if he was blaming her for sleeping more than usual or anything, it was simply an oddity to wake up and have her at his side… and it was nice.

“Sstrid came back late at night yesterday” she said talking more to her straw pillow than to him.

They both have been worried about their daughter yesterday, she was very angry after losing the final of Dragon Training to the Haddock lad, it’s not as if they could blame her, Astrid herself was magnificent in the ring, fast and precise rolls and timing each movement to avoid the attention of the Gronkle the way she did was something that many grown up warriors could not do, but of course in the end it was all for naught because the Haddock boy ended it with his bare hands… and it happened in the blink of an eye.

It was as glorious as it was infuriating!

Over the years he saw his daughter train with her axe daily, never skipping a day and he and his brother Finn were always glad to show her any move and combination she asked for and she strived, she needed to challenge warriors six or five years her senior to find an appropriate challenge, before Dragon Training started he had been so sure his Astrid would be the one killing the dragon at the end of it, they could use that Monstrous Nightmare’s carcass…

“Do you think the Haddock lad is alive?” it had to be asked, Astrid looked positively murderous yesterday, his wife merely made a guttural sound of acknowledgement that he was pretty sure no other man could decipher… she meant to say: Yes, he is alive.

Before Ingrid could reply they heard Astrid get out of bed slowly, just like her mother she wasn’t a morning person, they kept their silence while listening Astrid’s steps behind the linen curtain that protected their privacy from their children and after a second they heard the rusty grinding noise of her chest opening, Ingrid’s glare was enough to tell him he should have oiled those hinges before going out to look for the dragon’s nest… the chief barely gave the warriors enough time to pack their undies… and judging by how some of his fellow warriors stank when they finally returned many didn’t even had time to pack at all!

Muffled sounds followed, she was probably getting her clothes for today out of her chest and then those damn hinges were provoking him a teeth-ache, maybe he should oil them today before going to the arena and spare himself from their infernal noise! Another sound soon came, wood hitting wood, probably their empty water buckets, he hears them every wash day when Ingrid takes them to the well so she can fill the tub in the backyard they share with other three Hoffersons families, but today isn’t wash day… Astrid walked out of their door and the last sound they heard was the soft white noise of their door closing.

“Are you sure the Haddock lad is alive?” Astrid was acting strange enough to warrant verification.

“She told me she didn’t killed him last night and there was no blood on her…” well it’s not like he really thought his daughter would really kill the chief’s son, but she was not above beating him for what she perceived as cheating in the Kill Ring… he wishes he could cheat like that dammit.

Finally his wife stood up and lit the fire on the hearth and prepared the irons to prepare some of the last jerky they have left for breakfast, at least tonight they will be having a feast in the Great Hall to celebrate their safe return and Hiccup’s first dragon kill and tomorrow the chief will distribute rations among the warriors that participated in the expedition and a few silver coins, his family will be alright for a couple of months at least, winter will come in one month… they will survive of course, but they will lose some weight for sure.

With a grunt he stood up feeling the still cold air of the morning now that he doesn’t have his bed’s furs and his only cover was a large white tunic he uses to sleep, he walked towards his children’s bed where his son Erik was still sleeping and asked himself if it was a good idea or not to wake him up yet or let him sleep longer, today most of the village will be celebrating, there was a lot to celebrate after all.

Hiccup the clumsy, small and skinny son of their chief leaves all of that behind and will become a man in the eyes of the tribe after killing that Nightmare… By the Gods the thoughts of that carcass were torturing him, he could trade the horns and fangs for furs and make new winter outfits for Erik, it is obvious he outgrew the ones he used last year, but it will be hand me downs again from his cousins for his son and maybe his daughter too depending on how much she grew as well, he noticed Astrid’s best and only dress neatly folded in a corner of the bed, that was weird.

He could feel his wife’s eyes on his back, she was probably glaring at him with her hands on her waist to let their son sleep a bit more, sighting he walked to their table and sat on his stool taking a piece of their loaf of bread.

Maybe he should consider Dogscales Ingerman offer for Astrid more seriously the next time he asked, he was a good man, an excellent carpenter and ship-maker, he will keep ignoring Spitelout Jorgenson though, the man’s son has no trade and is not half as good a warrior as they claim him to be, besides, they are Jorgenson, the sole thought of being related to them makes him sick!

The sound of water being dropped into their shared tub interrupted his thoughts “Astrid is acting strange” he told his wife while pointing at their daughter’s dress, a bath and a dress in the same day was extremely suspicious to him, but he couldn’t guess why she was acting this way and a shrug from Ingrid told him she couldn’t either.

“Morning” Erik woke up apparently and he was walking to the table while rubbing his eyes to chase away the last remnants of sleepiness.

He greeted his pride and joy by messing with his blond hair in the way he abhorrence the most gaining himself a pout and a glare from those trademark Hofferson blue eyes of his, it was an impressive glare for a six year old boy, he lifted his son and put him on his lap and gave him the rest of his loaf of bread to bribe him out of his anger, it would have worked better if it was some pastry… but it was always so much entertaining to mess with him, he really loved his son.

Both males of the household watched as Ingrid served them their portions in wooden bowls and a basin of water to wash their hands and faces before they dug in, the sound of water being poured in the half-full tub in their backyard was heard again, four buckets full of water was the minimum required to take a bath he doubted Astrid would go to the trouble of getting more and was probably getting into the tub and getting over the early morning bath “It’s too early to take a bath!” he said with shivering a little at the thought of how cold the water in the tub must be feeling.

“What is Astrid up to?” his wife asked after shivering herself, on washday everyone waits until midday when the water is warmer before soaking themselves and rubbing the soap against their skin as fast as they can, very few on Berk have the resources to make hygiene pleasurable.

He shrugged in response, she stayed on the island, her guess is better than his right now, it made him uncomfortable to not know, Astrid was always constant and reliable up until now “Let’s not make anything big over a bath and a dress” he finally said, true it is suspicious but today was special, there will be a feast tonight after all.

Ingrid just nodded but was clearly more curious than him, as demonstrated by her constant stares directed at the wall that covered the view to the bathtub.

A few minutes later Astrid entered again using their back door she was wrapped in a big linen cloth she must have used to dry herself and greeted them “Morning” and she was responded in the same fashion. Her hair was loose and wet as she walked to her chest once again tormenting them with the noise from its hinges, he paid her no further attention while she dressed.

A few minutes later the quietness of his home was interrupted by someone knocking thefront door, it was loud and polite, he heard Astrid gasp behind him, turning around to face her, and she was already using her dress and was combing her hair with Ingrid’s dragon bone comb, but what really caught his attention was not that, no, it was her wide open eyes and slightly open jaw, there was no surprise on her expression, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was either.

Sighting Ingrid got up again and walked to the door, she was still wearing her sleeping tunic, no need to dress up to just to greet a neighbor.

“Chief!”

Well that was unexpected, in a hurry Einar put his son in the floor and went to his personal chest to look for clean leggings, he won’t allow his chief to catch him with his pants down… or without them. Sitting on the floor to speed up the process he saw Astrid again hurrying with her own braid, she was definitely not surprised “Papa” she said but in that precise moment Stoick “The Vast” entered his household commanding all his attention, he just really wished his daughter didn’t beat Stoick’s son so bad he cannot kill the Monstrous Nightmare today.

Stoick was looking his usual chiefly self, nothing out of the ordinary, same helmet, same armor, same tunic bellow his armor, same belt, same war hammer and same boots and bracers and a roll of parchment on one hand and a bottle of ink in the other… those objects were not something the chief would usually carry with him, parchment was valuable as was the ink but they were not something you need on your day to day life, they were used to keep track of the many necessities of the tribe, and those were mainly handled by Gobber not Stoick himself, Einar was not the most intelligent man on Berk, he was a good warrior and guard,he never fell asleep while on duty, he was a dedicated father and husband, but if one puts a daughter behaving in a strange manner and chief visiting his household with items used in administrative duty and forging betrothal contracts… he looked at Astrid again and she smiled awkwardly and nod.

It couldn’t be, could it?

“Chief! Good Morning” he was trying not to jump to conclusions here, even if Astrid practically confirmed his suspicions not two seconds ago.

What were the chances?

“Good Morning Einar” Stoick greeted in a formal manner looking around his household as if searching for something… or someone “Up and about, eh?” when he said that he wasn’t talking about him, it was obviously directed at Astrid.

“Of course! Astrid was just about to take Erik to look for some berries in the forest, she is quite good with children!” so what if he was lying through his teeth? How many times does a sentry have the chance to forge an alliance with the village chief?

“Huh?” of course this was a bit too much to understand for his six year old son.

“Hurry and put your pants on Erik” His wife said while looking for their son’s leggings before grabbing them in one hand, using the other to push him outside while Astrid, who understood what was going to happen, followed them still smiling nervously, Ingrid closed the door after their offsprings were outside, at this point being subtle was a lost concept for them, luckily judging Stoick’s chuckle he found this amusing. It may have something to do with the fact that Ingrid still had Erik’s leggings on her hand…

“Mom!”

Yeah, they were not expecting this when they woke up this morning.

0x0x0

Astrid was walking thru the forest to the location of some of the bushes that may have some mature berries, walking slightly behind her pouting was her little brother Erik, she loved him, but they don’t exactly share the best siblings relationship… they are rather distant.

To Erik, their family and clan have always been the way they are now, he was born nearly a year after the uncle Finn’s death, and to her that was a life changing event, she had admired Finn “Fearless” Hofferson, to her he was the example of how a warrior should live, always duty, honor and above all: Bravery, when her father started teaching her how to wield an axe, it was always a short affair, always showing her how to, making her repeat the technique and then he would lay to sleep after his night shifts watching out for dragons, then uncle Finn would come and show her one or two more tricks about what she was currently learning, she admired him but then he faced off with the Flightmare and his epitaph went from “Fearless” to “Frozen” and his death brought shame to the clan, previously her relatives bad luck regularly angered the gods for ridiculous reasons, before uncle Finn one of her aunts had to travel to the end of the world to pay tribute to Odin for reasons she’s forgotten, but couldn't find it because she kept coming back from the opposite direction and before that Thor randomly got angry at another of her uncles and hit him with lightning… repeatedly,

For Erik, the little respect the rest of Berk pays to the Hofferson clan now is as much as it has always been… but she remembers a time when it was different, their tendencies to anger the Gods apart, the Hoffersons were recognized as great and fearless warriors instead of barely competent artisans and good guards.

Erik can’t understand her determination to bring their clan back to prominence, it wasn’t his fault either, but it created a rift between them, he would rather play with his friends than expend all of his time training like she often did. Maybe a little distance will bring them closer, because honestly… Hiccup got better at fighting dragons by befriending one so it is not so farfetched.

And speaking of the devil… he was right there next to the bushes! Wearing his everyday tunic, vest, pants and boots and he was holding a spear on his left hand.

“Is that Hiccup? If you didn’t beat him up what was the chief in our house?” Astrid couldn’t help but be amused by her little brother naivety, but she was more nervous than amused, way more nervous.

“Why don’t we go and ask Hiccup?” she wasn’t in the mood to explain the facts of life to Erik, it was their parents’ job.

As they got closer and closer she noticed a rope tied up in a high limb of one of the trees nearby, and hanging low on it there was a metal ring about the size of a fist, by the looks of it Hiccup was training his accuracy with that spear but there was more to it, that was obvious.

Hiccup was holding the spear in what appeared to be the wrong way, pointing the butt of the pole towards the ring and the spearhead pointing towards him, but when he moved he rotated the pole and his body in a way that left him holding the spear the right way and then thrusting aiming for the ring… but he missed, at least he was kind of close to it… all thing considered, the thrust had some strength behind it but it was nothing impressive it actually may hurt a dragon but it wouldn’t be enough for a killing blow.

She hoped he knew what he was doing “Hiccup!” she said rather loudly once he was in hearing range, he stopped in mid-motion looking directly at her, he opened his mouth but didn’t say anything at first.

“Good Morning” he was being so formal it was weird, and it made her uncomfortable.

“How did you convince your dad?” that was the question in front of the queue in her mind, yesterday she thought it was impossible and Hiccup’s crazy plan of courting her without the contract was the best way to go about this.

“It wasn’t that hard” he said taking his starting position again “Sure he said ‘No’ once, but then I reminded him that you could have won Dragon Training and that was enough to convince him…” ok that was flattering, and kind of truth “Besides he knew I would need a wife soon anyway.” He once more rotated the spear and his body before thrusting his weapon towards the metal ring, this time he managed to hit his target. Smiling he got back onto starting position.

“Are you getting married?” Erik asked as if what Hiccup just implied was something incompressible to him, truth to be told, she was mildly offended by how surprised he sounded as well.

“Why do you think the chief visited us?” she was a little angry with Erik right now, the way Hiccup was talking pretty much confirmed that: yes, she was getting married, much earlier than she planned, but it would be happening anyway, maybe some time after next winter… the Gothi needed time to prepare the mead and all.

“Why are you marrying her, she’s always angry” Oh the little rat!

“Because she isn’t _always_ angry and she is a good Viking” Hiccup replied without missing a beat before thrusting his spear again but missing the target, sighting he got into his starting position again. She smiled at Hiccup but then scowled at Erik, she was angry at him right now…

“Are you sure? Because she looks angry right now” she calmed herself down, she won’t be goaded by Erik into a fight, she had more important questions to ask.

One in particular “If you convinced your dad of doing this, are you sure you can’t convince him of…” she glanced at her Erik, it wouldn’t be good to talk so freely around him, he would without a doubt repeat anything he heard here if he thought it would get her in trouble, it was his way of retaliating against her for the times she sparred with him in training, Meanwhile Hiccup thrust his spear again missing the ring “That other thing we talked last night?”

Hiccup didn’t assumed his starting position and instead looked pensive, like considering how to say what he had on mind, she took advantage of that and took his spear to try the same move as him. Without the spear Hiccup suddenly looked a lot more worried, she assumed the same started position, rotated her body and the spear in roughly the same way, her thrust just missed the ring, it was probably the dress fault, the thing messed her balance and equilibrium.

“I’m sure I can’t” she was hoping he would say yes, the prospect of having to face that dragon again without Stoick leading the tribe was scary, it was not that she doubted Hiccup would find a way to kill that thing, it was the fact that Stoick has been Berk’s chief as far as she can remember, and now suddenly there was a problem Stoick cannot deal with… _must not deal with._  

“Why? How is that different from the contract?”

“Can we talk about that later?” Hiccup said while eying Erik who was becoming increasingly curious “Besides I need to get this down before the Fight” he took his spear back, she had to admit that discussing this in front of a witness was a terrible way to keep the nest a secret.

“If you and Hiccup marry you will live with him?” Erik asked a little too happy to get rid of her. She nodded and he smiled, the little rat will have the bed all to himself now! If she could take the bed as part of her dowry she would!

“Aren’t you supposed to get berries?” officially that’s why their parents kicked them out of the house after all.

Unable to keep talking about the matters they both wanted Astrid settled for helping Hiccup with his spear forms while he trained, he was able to hit his target three times out of five, when Astrid’s mother came looking for her children, her hair had the usual knot typical of all married woman in the village and some really elaborated braids to go with it.

Astrid couldn’t help but notice the way she eyed Hiccup warningly, Erik approached Ingrid and showed her all the berries he had collected and accused her of not helping… Mama’s boy.

Her mother crouched down and whispered something on Erik's ear and he was suddenly looking determined before running back home ahead of them, she and Hiccup knew that this was most likely one of the last times before the wedding they would be able to talk in a semi-private environment, from now on they would need chaperons, and their chaperons will most likely be older than six year old but at least that meant there would be a wedding.

“Hiccup lad, you are welcome to visit Astrid in our household whenever you want, but please avoid meeting like this until the wedding” she said good bye to Hiccup and all three Hofferson family member were on their way back home.

“I don’t know what happened yesterday Astrid” her mom started “But I know you wanted to help to restore the clan honor slaying dragons. Had you won Dragon Training your father would have allowed you to stay single a few more years…” of course, he would have let her stay single and fighting dragons until she was eighteen or nineteen raising her bride pride price and then he would have marry her just before she could be considered an old maiden “I just wanted to tell you that I’m happy with how mature you are acting” she smiled to her “Now let’s go back home, I have a month to prepare you to be the Heir’s wife”

A month!?

**A/N: Hope You guys/girls liked this chapter and yes, those two are getting married and soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, I actually lied about owning a blue-ray of the first movie, I just borrowed it from a friend… and haven’t returned it yet. Now I’m sad.**

“A month?!” that was a bit precipitated, isn’t it? “Mom the people will talk!” was she the only one that thought of that? Astrid was first and foremost a warrior, and she has never been overly concerned with gossips that accompany weddings in Berk, but it was hard to ignore said gossip when it was like the air one breaths… everywhere, in the harbor, in the Great Hall, in the market, in her own household, everywhere, and everyone, even the others of her cohort took part on it and as much as she hates to admit it, she herself was not _completely_ above it, she never commented on it but she still listened to the various rumors and occasionally stared at the belly of the bride in turn. Apparently it was her turn to be in Berk’s mouths. Did Hiccup imply she could be… in trouble? Was that how he managed to convince Stoick so easily?

She was Furious.

“The chief… Stoick” Her mom said with a satisfied smile “he _insisted_ on the date, your father and me tried to put it off until after the thaw festival… but you try arguing with that man, he is so stubborn!” Ingrid’s voice was filled with frustration as they passed the door to their home without entering and kept moving towards her Uncle Egil’s house “He seems convinced that there could be a little Haddock growing inside you” as Ingrid’s deceptively sweet voice let her know that she was _not_ happy with the chief’s assumptions, misplaced assumptions “He must be imagining things. Right?”

Her mother’s question made Astrid extremely uncomfortable “I’m not… there is _not_ a little Haddock inside me” she said with as much confidence as she could, it was impossible for her to be pregnant so technically there was nothing to be afraid, but her mother still can inspire the fear of the Gods on her and the idea of her reaction in the event of her being pregnant out of wedlock was something that scared her, a lot.

“Well, since your beau convinced Stoick to forge the contract it wouldn’t be _so_ bad if there were one right now… people _will_ talk no matter the case” that much Astrid knew was true, but it wouldn’t be so bad if they waited until after winter for the ceremony, however now she was the wood feeding Berk’s bonfire of gossip! And she will burn like tinder. Her mother stopped a short distance of Uncle Egil’s house and turned to face her, she was still smiling, and it seemed that nothing could really dampen her mood right now “But it will be nice when people realize the rumors are wrong” that was something she could agree with her mother.

They entered Egil’s house and practically every married woman of the Hofferson clan was inside, aunts and women who married her cousins, with a loud squeak Treeteeth who married her cousin Ulfr three years earlier hugged her and whispered her congratulations to her, and soon every woman in the room was hugging her and telling her how good the match was some even went further and joked about her keeping Hiccup from destroying the village, she was guided to a stool were they made her take a seat and handed a mug with steaming tea all the while listening to her clanswomen talk about her marriage or how fast she did grew and groomed her hair.

The tea tasted funny and she was going to kill Hiccup after he killed that Monstrous Nightmare.

0x0x0

The linen cloth he prepared last night now had an unhealthy looking tint to it, almost as if it was infested with fungus, and the color was not distributed evenly, the sight of it was kind of disgusting but the smell was just about the same as the tall grass dragons love.

So the first part of his plan was successful, now came the part where he hopes Toothless reaction the grass is based on his sense of smell… how would he have liked to test it beforehand in a safe environment, but it is too late for it now.

But hey, he is a Viking, death by dragon is just an occupational hazard.

He wrapped the cloth around the spearhead to hide it from view and hopefully its fragrance will overpower the smell of iron and the dragon won’t consider the long stick as a threat, he wrapped some of the leftover grass on the butt of the spear along with some rope for good measure, hopefully it would look as if he just decorated his weapon before the fight.

He did all that last night, he was unable to sleep until he finished with the preparations of the weapon, and today when he awoke he took his spear from the left side of his door where he left it last night, the sun wasn’t up yet and he knew he would be feeling tired by the end of the day but right now he had too much nervous energy to burn, when he went downstairs he was surprised his father was already up and about, there were some burning charcoals in the heart that were probably leftovers from what he did last night, and close to it there was some yak meat slowly being cooked, now that he paid attention he could smell it too, there was enough for more than one person, if that person wasn’t Stoick The Vast.

But his father gladly shared his breakfast with him this morning and talked about how great today was going to be, he kept repeating how the two of them would finally have something to talk about and other stuff, there was also the matter of the contract with the Hoffersons, when he saw the parchment lying at the side of their table he asked about it but Stoick just told him to let him handle it and it was something he had to agree with, he had no idea about how things like Bride prices and Morning gifts were negotiated but he was curious nonetheless, of course it was then that the talk became uncomfortable.

Unlike last night when Stoick wanted to go back to sleep, right now his father was not only awake but willing to ask questions, one in particular: What he was doing late at night with Astrid?

And his father was as subtle as a herd of boars eating from The Silent Sven crops, there was a seemingly never ending amount of insinuations that he denied at the best of his abilities, but unsurprisingly his father didn’t seem to listen and in the end he couldn’t quite make up what his dad was thinking when he said that it’ll be good to have more Haddocks around, something he can agree with so he nodded with his head and, once the uncomfortable moment was over Stoick complimented him of his choice of weapon for today’s occasion.

When he finally left the household he made two stops before heading to train for today’s main event, first he got a metal ring about the size of his fist and a saw he would need after the fight, then he retrieved a second spear from the armory, he needed to make sure nothing happened to the one he spend the night preparing and the he took along with some rope, luckily he didn’t found anyone while doing this.

He wouldn’t go to Toothless cove, it felt wrong to train with his black scaled friend watching him, even without being on his presence he felt judged, he didn’t want to kill that dragon, but it was his duty.

He had to kill _some_ dragons before he could kill their queen, he just hoped that _some_ could be as few as possible.

Once he found a clear big enough where he could swing his spear, the he hung the rope from a limb and tied the ring to it so it would be hanging at a certain height.

His plan was not complicated, in theory, at least.

He would use the blunt side of the spear to keep the dragon at a distance while trying to entice it with the grass’s scent, hopefully making it look like they were fighting, then if/once the dragon mellowed he would guide it’s head to the ground and strike spinning so the spearhead pierces its eye and ,hopefully, it’s skull.

His best and probably only chance to make the kill.

That is why the ring was hanging around what he estimated would be the position the dragon’s eyes would be when he tries it.

The training was awful, the first dozen attempts he wasn’t even close to hit his mark, and he practically jumped the first time he managed to drive the spearhead thru the ring.

And the less he thought about the times he tripped over his own feet or the spear shaft the better!

By the time Astrid found him he was hitting true about half of the time, but he forgot about everything once he really looked at Astrid.

Her dress was simple, almost humble, but nothing more was needed to steal his voice at the sight of her, for a moment he was unable to answer her greetings and when he was able to recover it he talked to her in the most controlled way he possibly could, it might not have sounded good, but at least he didn’t stutter.

She was curious about the details about his accomplishment on getting his father to seek out hers for the wedding, but in all honestly it wasn’t even hard, apparently his father could be very reasonable when you do things the Viking way… and you are successful following it, he doubted his dad would have agreed to the wedding before he left for the quest of the nest, Of course she asked again if he was sure he couldn’t convince his dad about the nest, trying to be discreet because her little brother’s presence of course, he considers it for all two seconds, but nothing he’s seen today made him think he could, in the end he just told Astrid that it would be better to talk about it later, even though the mental image of his whole tribe being incinerated and/or eaten by a massive dragon served as a good reminding of why he: the walking, talking fishbone has to kill the dragon.

When Astrid’s mother came looking for her and gave him a warning a threatening look as well as the not so subtle delimitation of the acceptable boundaries of his interactions with her daughter and leave he knew that his Dad and Astrid’s parents had an agreement and the wedding was a go which was good, they probably are planning the ceremony to be held sometime after thaw making the contract public around Yule, they should have some time to talk before they are too heavily watched by chaperons, and after the wedding… well time won’t be a problem as they will have plenty of it to plan their next moves.

But for right now he just have to concentrate on how to get out of the Kill Ring alive.

0x0x0

It has been some time since Gobber last felt at peace, he couldn’t remember when was the last time it happened, such is the life on Berk.

It wasn’t before he lost his limbs on the raids, sure he has felt a certain need to get even with the flying reptiles for what they did to him, especially those Thor-damned Gronkles, maybe it was when he met his good friend Stoick? Nah, if he remember correctly the chief’s first words to him were something along the lines of: That is my wife you are touching you one handed Lout… good times.

It certainly wasn’t when Hiccup was born, he was too small and his chances to survive seemed slim back then, unlike now, now he felt confidence his protégé would get out of the arena victorious and whole.

Perhaps it was when Stoick gave Hiccup to him to become his apprentice, the curious and clumsy boy had so much enthusiasm… and so many limbs, the lad learned his way around the forge in such a natural way.

Yes, it must have been around that time when he last felt at peace, before Hiccup started creating his dragon-slaying contraptions of course.

But seeing his apprentice coming down the ramp to the entrance of the arena carrying a spear with him, nervous, anxious even, but still determined to carry on his duty to the village and take the honor of slaying his first dragon in front of the tribe, he couldn’t be prouder or feel more at peace.

Sure, the lad looks like he would like to be anywhere but here, but considering how shy he has been acting lately and considering his father would be watching… he doesn’t exactly blames him, Hiccup nods his head to acknowledge his presence, the lad is probably too nervous to speak.

Smiling Gobber puts his non-prosthetic hand on Hiccup’s shoulder, he would like to give him an advice, but frankly, the boy’s techniques are rather… unique, his methods are new and seem to be working well, well enough that this is the first time he seems to hold his weapon with the intention to use it instead of dropping it and submit the beast with his bare hands, not that touching a dragon that sets itself on fire with your bare hands was advisable anyway.

“Remember, Stoker class, ten shots, sets itself on fire” remind him the specs of the beast seems like the best thing to do, the boy will come up with something on his own, the way he has been doing ever since he stopped asking stupid questions about night furies. Hiccup nods but stays silent.

It’s almost time to start this whole circus and so Gobber takes the path that will take him to Stoick, he will watch his protégé biggest accomplishment to date with his best friend, on his way out he spots Einar Hofferson’s family arriving to the arena among the rest of his clan, he cannot avoid focusing on Astrid.

Dear lass wanted to win Dragon Training so much that yesterday it looked like she was going to strangle Hiccup after their final test, he couldn’t avoid noticing the dress she was wearing and sighed. Einar is already parading her for the bachelors of the island, apparently an event where the whole tribe will be present is too good an opportunity to miss, and the lass was not happy, that much was clear.

Imagine his surprise when Ingrid and Egil Hofferson’s wife Thora accompany Astrid to the kill ring where Hiccup is waiting, not only that but a smiling Einar and his son Erik meet with him on the way to the chief’s throne and greet him smiling the same way the greet Stoick.

His friend was smiling as well, and it couldn’t be just his imagination, everything about the chief was just pure and unadulterated joy while Einar had an aura around him… his mere presence here was out of place, he didn’t have the prestige nor the influence to be here.

Unless…

Stoick and he often could speak without words, such is their friendship, and their eyes could do the talk for their tongues.

He smiled.

0x0x0

Astrid was not happy, sure… her plan to marry Hiccup and help him to kill the dragon Queen was going smoothly, too much for her taste.

She was sure the talking Fishbone didn’t told her all the truth when they talked this morning, how else would he have convinced the chief to make the arrangements for their wedding? The answer? Of course, imply the possibility of a Haddock child conceived out of wedlock!

As she got right next to the ring’s door where Hiccup was anxiously waiting for the door to be raised, it was obvious that this was not the moment to confront him, the plan would fail if he goes out there and gets killed by the dragon…

They both stand next to each other, looking at the caged area where the fight will take place, her mother and aunt Thora are behind them, they are their official chaperones!

She just wanted to make sure he would get out of this alive, the Gods know he is the only one who can win or stop the war with the dragons, she should be cheering him up, but she isn’t exactly the kind and nurturing type of Viking.

“Remember: Stoker class, ten shots, sets itself on fire” only Thor knows how Hiccup intends to slay that dragon, so any further advice from her part would be useless but she still felt the need to help at least a bit.

Turning around to face her mom and aunt to signal them to go back and reunite with her father and Stoick, she felt Hiccup’s hand grabbing hers… her mom and aunt immediately reacted at the “Unauthorized” contact scaring the poor boy even further. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling, at least her father and uncles will be scaring the Hel out of him the whole month.

“You should stay by the door” he said weakly releasing her hand as if was red hot iron “For the horns… you know” he was still going to give her the carcass? She thought it was just if plan “B” was needed… great now the whole village will see her in a dress.

She just nodded… Ruffnut was never going to let her forget this.

The door was finally lifted and Hiccup entered the kill ring armed with his spear and tripping over his own feet.

0x0x0

'This is Berk, my home.

And today a new chapter of its history begins!

It has a rich history going back three hundred years back when the Hairy Hooligan tribe first ship first landed on its shores, there is a lot of fish around it, a big forest with game and trees perfect for all the tribe’s needs it has lush meadows where sheep can graze and apparently back then there was an abundance of iron ore if you knew where to look at.

The island was perfect so Us Hooligans claimed it for ourselves, our ancestors build a harbor and everything else around it, our homes are simple… and new, all of them are new.

Because, you see, ever since the first Hooligan set a foot on Berk’s beach we’ve been at war… with dragons!

They attack us, steal our food, prey on our cattle, burn our crops and houses every other week, and of course as Vikings we fight back… because we are Vikings. At first we did it with the most basic of Vikings strategies: hack, slay, stab and other methods as such, depending on your weapon of choice; but then Borg The Bold came and he gave us The Book Of Dragons.

Armed with this gift of knowledge us Berk’s Hooligans Vikings refined our dragon fighting methods learning things previously ignored like the fact that every dragon has a shot limit, blind spots and other various weakness and our kill to death ration improved significantly, however ever since then we have been stagnating, no other great breakthrough was made for hundreds of years and our constant quest to discover our enemy’s base have taken their toll on us something else was needed to end the war.'

And he, Fishelegs Ingerman believe that something is about to be found today when the tribe’s Heir: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock The Third kills his first dragon.

Having been part of the same class he has witnessed up close what everyone around him is here to see, and it isn’t only a Vikings Rite of Passage into adulthood, no, it’s the new fighting methods he has developed to deal with their mortal enemies.

He wouldn’t lie, he was far more interested on the research than on the results themselves, just how exactly did Hiccup learned all he knows now?

The chief gives a short funny speech about the amazing progress Hiccup has made since the time they last left to find the nest and the door to the ring is lifted

As Hiccup enters the arena everyone pretends to not notice when he tripped over… something, and Fishlegs sighs in relief at the spear the Heir is carrying, against a Monstrous Nightmare Hiccup’s fists wouldn’t be a good option even if they seem to have a plus twelve damage against dragons.

Everyone has their eyes on Hiccup as he nods to the chief and the dragon is released, the beast is already on fire, it stalks the young heir climbing on the arena walls shooting fire at some of the crowd of Vikings that is luckily dodged and no one is hurt.

Good just eight shots left.

Focusing on the one Viking within its reach the dragon goes in a line directly at Hiccup, who points the butt of his spear at it?

“Hey look Useless is doesn’t know which end goes on the dragon!” that was Snotlout Jorgenson, Hiccup’s cousin and according to some people he would be replacing him as Heir soon, Snotlout has been trying to popularize “Useless” as Hiccup’s epithet for a while now, Fishlegs can’t really see him succeeding on it… even if he does have a point right now, Hiccup is doing it wrong.

Ignoring the Jorgenson’s taunts Hiccup lightly hits the Monstrous Nightmare with the decorated butt of his spear on its nostrils and it does a surprisingly good job at keeping the flying lizard at bay, once, twice then he swats the beast downwards slowly but surely making its dangerous head touch the stone floor.

They appear to be at a standstill with the dragon held at bay with a harmless piece of wood keeping him away from its prey and Hiccup’s taking deep breaths getting ready for something.

That something being a fast but ungraceful spin and stab motion at one of the creature’s eye, Hiccup slips and falls but the dragon lays on the cold stone… not moving.

A deadly blow.

The crowd explodes in cheering, the loudest voice belonging to the chief!

**A/N: That last scene was harder to write than I expected, it was particularly hard to weaponize what Hiccup learned from the dragons, hope it came believable.**

**And about the rush for the wedding, well… Stoick might want to see his clan blossom once more and since he doesn’t particularly wants to re-marry that responsibility falls on Hiccup and his future wife, and the sooner they get to work on that the better. He basically kept asking Hiccup until he got an excuse to rush it, and he doesn’t particularly care about a few rumors that will be forgotten as soon as there is another wedding on the tribe.**

**And while Hiccup and Astrid… consummating their marriage before time might not be the end of the world it is something the Hoffersons would like to avoid.**

**By the way... R.I.P. Hookfang.**

**Liked it, hated it? please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Someone interested in planning a heist to get HTTYD Brand from Dream Works and Cressida Cowell?_ **

‘That was disturbingly similar to what I expected from the dragon, the Monstrous Nightmare whole demeanor changed with the scent of the grass even its pupils behaved the way I thought they would expanding just the same way as Toothless when I put the grass close to his nostrils.’

‘For a moment I thought he could tame the dragon, the same way as Toothless, but one look at my father, the way he was standing at the edge of his throne and his weight pushed forward, a hand on his war hammer and the look on his eyes told me that he was ready to intervene to save me the second something doesn’t go as he expects it to go, that includes me dropping my weapon and getting closer to the dragon, I was sure of that.’

‘My father knows only the Viking way and it’s the only path he is willing to walk, even if there are other, both better and easier ways to follow.’

After stabbing the dragon on its eye and embarrassingly losing my balance when the spear met some resistance on the flesh of the beast before coming to an abrupt stop having something too hard to pierce through. I fell to the ground where now I watch my opponent, waiting for it to move, expecting it to turn its head around and burn me until I’m nothing but ashes.

‘I did it!’

For years I felt that this would be the happiest moment of my life, finally earn the acknowledgement of my father and the favor of the tribe… but he feels empty.

‘Am I really the only one that noticed?’

The Monstrous Nightmare only confronted him when it noticed escaping was not an option, and when it got closer it wasn’t with the immediate intention of fighting but mostly out of curiosity, otherwise he wouldn’t had time to put his plan in motion.

‘The creature was no threat to anyone anymore… was it even a threat to begin with? If I tried to befriend it instead of…’

‘Did I just end a possible friend?’

‘Could this dragon have been smart and peaceful like Toothless?’

He could feel tears pooling on his eyes and his throat closing, killing the dragon was the right thing to do!

He screamed and lifted his fist, this was Berk’s future chief first kill, and he must look the part at least.

Looking around his eyes found Astrid and her mother and aunt near the door… the horns!

0x0x0

Astrid allowed herself to breathe again, she had no idea how Hiccup managed to bewitch the Nightmare, but he did it. No matter how ungraceful it was or what trick he used, he was alive and the dragon not.

It took Hiccup a couple of minutes to saw off the dragon’s horns, he was much more graceful with a tool than he was with a weapon, that was for sure.

The tribe was still cheering and screaming, Hel, even she was screaming.

Did it really matter he used a trick instead of actually fighting the dragon? The result was the same in the end.

Not really, Hiccup wouldn’t be able to kill a dragon the way the other Hooligans could, but the same was true in reverse.

The gate was lifted, she and her mother and aunt entered the kill ring and the tribe’s roars became dull whispers as Hiccup diligently sawed-off the horns, she waited until the second of the two biggest ones was removed before entering the Kill Ring, using her hands to slightly lift the skirt of the dress as to not trip on it she approached her betrothed, she could hear the confused noises that all the questions of the present Hooligans made, her mother and aunt just a few steps away from them. How they loved the idea, according to them it was a present worthy of her, well at least Hiccup was making points with her parents and clan, it should come in handy.

“HOOLINGANS!!” the chief’s voice has always had the effect of not only getting the attention of the tribe but silencing it as well, as if everyone on the arena were just mere children listening to their father everyone holds their breathe and listens.

“A few weeks before our last quest for the nest, Einar Hofferson and me started the negotiations of the Bride Price of his daughter Astrid!” she swallowed her saliva, the chief was lying! She didn’t knew he could! Perhaps it was naïve of her to think anyone was above lying to accommodate the truth for their needs but with Stoick it just seemed kind of impossible, like everything that came out of the man’s mouth was the truth, but in this case there was no chance of what he just said was true!

Before yesterday her father and Stoick barely exchanged greeting much less got together to discuss her bride price!

He lifted the parchment roll where the contract was written showing it for everyone to see and once again the voices of the tribe screamed in joy once they understood what was going on… or they thought they did at least, only she, her parents, the chief, Hiccup and probably her clan knew all the truth, but the tribe knew enough to know this was a time to celebrate.

But she didn’t felt there was much reason to do celebrate, after all she just learned that the pillars of her world was not an immaculate columns of honor and integrity like she always thought, if her father and her chief lie, who could she trust?

She barely paid attention to Stoick as he read the contract for the tribe, apparently she was worth owning a small farm land, a fishing ship and two dozen of sheep, a higher prize she expected after not winning Dragon Training but the chief is simply wealthy enough to pay as much, her dowry was much more … mundane, yards of linen, weapons, half of her family herd of sheep and a bed, she was forced to smile through it all but hearing that temporarily transformed her forced smile into a real one… Take that Erik!

Hiccup was offering her the horns of his first kill right now and she just extended her hand to take them from him, pretending to smile.

Hiccup didn’t looked much better, he was faking his smile just as much as her and she remembered that her partner liked the dragons more as… pets than as enemies any day of the week, she was sure the moisture around his eyes was not in her imagination.

He did what was right, he fulfilled his duty to the tribe, and he was the Viking of the hour… yet he was not happy, they needed to talk, but her rage was abated with uncertainty, their plan was going so much better than they first expected, and it was scary.

She raised her offerings and showed them to the tribe, the carcass was now hers, right now she was wealthy for a fifteen year old single girl… well now that was not true, she was now Hiccup’s bride, she wasn’t really single anymore.

She hugged Hiccup to whisper on his ear “We need to talk” he just nodded his head, this was going way too fast for her liking!

Stoick choose that moment to announce the date of the wedding, and Hiccups eyes widened in surprise… did he really just found out?

She didn’t anticipate her hugging Hiccup would make the tribe even louder! And somehow among all the screaming voices roaring with approval she still heard Snotlout’s despair filled howl.

0x0x0

‘This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening this is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening!’

Hiccup “The Useless” could not be getting married to his princes! She was his! That’s why this couldn’t be happening!

Everyone knew he wanted her, and he was a Viking, he just takes what he wants! That’s how the world works!

Just when Snotlout was going to go down to the Kill Ring to put his useless cousin in his place for daring to even think he could take Astrid Hofferson away from him his father Spitelout Jorgenson pulled him back restraining him with an arm around his chest and covering his mouth with his hand!

What was his dad thinking? He should be helping him get the talking fishbone away from Astrid!

He tried to look at his father’s face but all he could see was his mouth roaring with approval and he couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

This is not how it was supposed to be! It should be him down on the ring celebrating with her not his useless cousin… honestly he let him won Dragon Training, Hiccup should not be grateful he let him have that much!

But no! He has to spit on his good will and try to steal his girl!

His father looked down and met his eyes, and boy he was not happy either, but then why was he allowing this to happen?

0x0x0

“… Have to work more on your final thrust but you did a good work back there!”

His father was proud of him, that or not disappointed, it was hard to tell the difference from his point of view, both them were rare enough that he often confused one for the other.

It was not important at the moment, because he would rather not talk about the dragon he just killed, however that seemed to be the only thing his father seemed to be able to think about, it was almost funny… almost.

 It was still a nice feeling, he just wished he could enjoy it like he always thought he would. But being here on their home and listen about how good a job he did he couldn’t stop thinking that he was a fraud, that the skills his father seems to be so proud of are nothing but a trick.

“And the people! The tribe enjoyed themselves so much… they needed it son…” his father lets out a contented sigh “I thought they would deaf me when you gave your bride those horns!” his dad calm and not disappointed demeanor was new to him, but him talking about Astrid he was reminded about his up and coming wedding, it was a month from now on after all.

“Dad…?” he asked trying to get his progenitor’s attention “Isn’t one month too soon for the wedding?” the tribe will talk a lot about this, especially about Astrid and him and Astrid’s belly, not that there was any risk of pregnancy, but that’s not what matters here.

His dad smiled again, as if he knew something he didn’t, which was kind of ironic because he knows where the dragon’s nest is and his dad doesn’t “Already having second thoughts?”

His jaw fell open for a second or two, if there was one thing he didn’t regretted about the last two days was he decision to marry Astrid, it was a dream come true… one he doesn’t regret like the other one about killing dragons “Of course not!” his father actually chuckled after he answered his question, it was getting harder to know what he was thinking, this was all so different to what he was used to.

“What is the matter then?” Stoick asked with genuine curiosity.

“Why is it so rushed? I though the wedding would be sometime after Thaw” Hiccup inquired, there was no real reason to go this fast “The tribe will get ideas” he said with a voice filled with sarcasm.

“As far as the tribe knows this was planned months ago, so they shouldn’t talk more than with any other couple” at least that was true, but his dad didn’t really told him what the rush is.

“But why next month dad?”

Sighing his dad put a hand on their table and looked at it intently, as if it was extremely interesting “The tribe needs something to celebrate, son… we had four expeditions this year, we lost a dozen of good Vikings just looking for that damn nest!” the times when his father looked defeated were few, but they happened, not finding the nest will always be his biggest failure. It was something he should thank the Gods for, otherwise it wouldn’t be a few Vikings lost on each quest but the entire party.

Thank Odin for the small mercies.

“It will help them get in mood for yule too!” his father recovered his previous attitude and eyed him so full of not disappointment “It already started, could you listen to them? They were impressed, they will talk for years about this!” Stoick stood up and walked to the door of their home appearing exited “I’ll go check how the preparations for the feast are going” and Hiccup was left alone for the first time after he killed the Monstrous Nightmare.

He felt guilty but there was something he had to do today, he didn’t wanted to go today, but if he doesn’t feed Toothless no one will.

0x0x0

Today was particularly noisy inside the household of her parents and around it, her whole clan was inside or around it, of course it was bound to be noisy.

Outside her kin was busy skinning the Monstrous Nightmare for its hide, extracting the long fangs of the beast and removing claws and horns, it was an interesting but bloody process she has seen a few times before, some of the meat will be donated for today’s feast, mostly to be served in the high table where she will most likely be seated.

Some hide and fangs will be payment for the assistance her clan provided but according to her mom and dad the rest will be hers… of course her mom insinuated something about new furs with winter being so close and stuff, she understood completely and it was not as if she was averse at the idea of sharing, it was not as if she herself had made the kill, she owned the thing because of Hiccup’s whims and she knows how cold winters can be, what happens outside of her parents household is not bothering her at all.

Inside however… she was put to spinning wool as practice for her new life as a married woman, and the same party that ambushed at Egil’s house was with her right now, and with them her younger cousins.

Honestly… she would be happier helping outside than spinning wool right now, it would be easier to sneak away from everyone and talk with Hiccup, it is something they need to do, its not only because she would like to escape the overly festive surroundings.

Fat chance of that happening, everyone agrees she needs to spin faster… she just hoped this wouldn’t become her whole month.

0x0x0

Sneaking to the cove with Toothless meal was much, much more difficult than it was three days ago, there was an abundance of eyes looking out specifically for him, around half a dozen of Vikings tried to engage a conversation with him to talk about dragons, his wedding, his bride and possible heirs, it was a bit overwhelming to have that amount of attention from his fellow hooligans.

But he managed to evade them after a few tries and he was now reaching Toothless’ hiding place, his basket was not as plentiful as in the past but with so many Vikings in the Mead Hall he had to take fish from the cellar on his house to have something for his friend.

“Hey Bud!” he called when he entered his most secret place, watching his best friend rest on a rock.

Toothless regarded him with a look instead of tackling him to the ground to eat his lunch as he usually does which was a cause of concern for Hiccup but he got approached as he would normally “I brought you some cod and salmon, no eels on this basket!” that finally got the attention of his scaled best friend who jumped down from his rock and stared intently at him, then he sniffed, sniffed again and then sniffed some more.

Like always Hiccup threw the basket’s contents on the floor for Toothless to enjoy and then he sat beside him and scratched the dragon where he knew he enjoyed the most and tried to talk to him, but it wasn’t easy, he supposed it would be the same as telling someone he killed a relative because it was his duty…

Even him doesn’t swallow that excuse yet, was that really his duty? that Monstrous Nightmare could have been befriended easier than killed, but there was so much on the line to risk an accident, he needs to be a Viking to be Berk’s chief, and you need to kill dragons to be a Viking in Berk, Vikings and dragons will die until they can kill the Queen, and he has no clue of how to do that.

His eyes turn to the sky longing to be there flying, playing and exploring instead of here asking himself if he should tell his friend what he did or if he should stay silent.

“I killed a dragon today Bud, it was a Monstrous Nightmare” he said getting Toothless attention “it was captured a couple of months ago to be the final test of Dragon Training, killing it is considered _a honor_ ” he said with sarcasm “but I don’t feel very honorable right now” he looked at his friend in the eyes, expecting to be regarded as a criminal.

Instead the Night Fury licked his face.

0x0x0

Toothless knew something was wrong with his human the moment he entered his “den” the little human was so different from the one who came in yesterday planning to leave for good, but he had already changed last night, this was more as if he didn’t liked what he’d become.

Toothless couldn’t understand every sound that came from his humans mouth, but he could understand his intentions and his body always said much more than his sounds, it was one of the things he liked about him, that and his ability to create things.

The sounds he could understand though were “kill” and “Dragon”, he understood his friend killed a dragon, one of his kind, not a Night Fury, but a dragon.

He didn’t liked it, but things are always the way they are meant to be, the have an “Order”.

Dragons must feed _Her_ so they steal food from humans, humans must survive so they kill dragons to keep their food. Little Human or “Hiccup” as the She-human called his friend defied this “Order” once when he let him live, and Toothless himself defied it once more when he didn’t killed “Hiccup” either.

The “Order” is changing and Hiccup is the one who started it and once its complete the world itself will be different.

He was angry, but he wanted to see the world his friend will create.

0x0x0

Seriously!?

She noticed that sometimes when she left to train her mother was spinning, and when she came back she would be spinning again… she just assumed that there were other activities on her mother schedule in between spinning…

The feast will start soon and she has been spinning wool since they came back from the kill ring!

Hiccup better not assume she will spend her life spinning!

**A/N: So I did a little research, well more like read this article about what would be expected from a married Viking woman, and apparently they would spend around thirty five hours spinning to get enough enough yarn for a day of weaving, so yea… Viking woman were in charge of making their family’s clothes so they kind of needed to. Head cannon Astrid won’t spend that much time spinning.**

**Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter, see you guys next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

Sitting on a chair inside his household slowly drinking his second mug of ale watching the embers of the small fire in the heart that keeps him warm. He coudln't even enjoy his ale with the current state of things.

Spitelout Jorgenson was upset, things were fine when he left with the rest of the tribe’s warriors in the expedition to find the nest, his son and heir was finally entering Dragon Training and so was his wife’s nephew: Hiccup.

His son would win the privilege of slaying his first dragon in front of the tribe and if he was really lucky Hiccup would shame himself in some way or another, the lad certainly had the habit of doing so when left unsupervised. If that had happened his son would have been a legal adult right now and he would have arguments to press the claims on Hiccup’s unsuitability to lead the tribe.

However that didn’t happened, instead that good for nothing son of his failed to qualify for the final two that the Gothi would choose from to be selected, beaten by his cousin and a girl!

He had been so close… it always seemed like something natural, like it was something that was so clearly meant to happen, ever since Hiccup was born small and weak and his Snotlout has always been big and strong, with both boys having Haddock blood, to him it was as if the Norns themselves were telling him that his son was the one better suited to rule the tribe, and his belief on this only increased with the pass of time when his son showed that his possessed all of the Vikings qualities his cousin lacked.

For years he has been pointing this to everyone who would listen, pointing that his son would be a much better choice than his clumsy and un-vikinglike cousin, and he managed to convince many of this.

The Jorgenson clan of course agreed and his clansmen were all happy to have the next chief to be one of them, much harder to convince were the Ingerman clan but they too agreed that a clumsy and disaster prone boy like Hiccup was not fit to be their next chief.

The Thorston clan was skeptical about this, always arguing that it was simply too soon to be pointing out the worth of either Snotlout or Hiccup before they even finished growing and now the chances of them supporting his son’s claim for the chiefdom were getting smaller and smaller.

The Hoffersons, the damned Hoffersons, those stubborn Gods forsaken fools will never support any of Snotlout’s claims now that one of them will be the new matriarch of the Haddock clan.

That marriage was the worst news of them all, he had been trying to marry Snotlout to that same girl that was now betrothed to Hiccup for years, and not only because his son fancies her, no, it just happens that with that match the support for Snotlout’s claims would have been absolute! And that hefty Bride price... the Hoffersons will now have a louder voice in future Things, and their voice will be an echo to Stoick now and Hiccup later.

Why did things have to get so out of control in just a short few weeks?

Now Hiccup actually looked like an acceptable Heir. But he doubted such good fortune would last long and Snotlout was still the best option to lead the tribe even with this couple of setbacks.

It only would take longer to get his son to become Berk's chieftain but it was still inevitable. He just couldn't help but feel angry, now that he could not bind his clan with the Hoffersons through his son and that girl anymore.

In the end there was nothing to be afraid of, sooner or later Hiccup will end either dead, crippled or shamed, The Norns rarely made their designs so clear.

0x0x0

The children’s table in the feast was always lively, there were no clans and no expectations in it, there it doesn’t matter who you parents are or if they owned the land they worked, the ships they sailed, or if they were craftsmen farmers or warriors, that place was free of the expectations that will come as the children grow up.

So after spending most of the afternoon helping his dad to take care of their family’s crop Tuffnut Thorston couldn’t help but envy the children in their isolated table, as he watches them laugh every time the Gothi smacks her staff on Gobber’s shoulder whenever he’s wrong interpreting the runes she writes on the floor, honestly Tuffnut thinks sometimes the old woman just writes the wrong rune on purpose but for all his complaints Gobber never seems really care about them simply because it makes the children happy when they tell them stories of old.

Turning his eyes to his own table he immediately notices the differences between them: Fishlegs… is just there moving his lips and seemingly lost in thought like he has been after the fight. Snotlout its much easier to read as he fills his mouth with food and glares at the high table. His sister is looking down at her food without really eating much and of course, Tuffnut cannot forget about the empty spot to the left of her sister where Astrid would be if she wasn’t on the high table.

Fishlegs is probably thinking something about numbers and dragons while Snotlout is furious with Hiccup for being betrothed to Astrid and Ruffnut was probably wondering how long it would take their father to realize she was the oldest unmarried girl in Berk after Astrid’s and Hiccup’s wedding.

In a way Tuffnut was happy his dad was focused on reminding him how next year he would have lived long enough to be considered an adult and how little he has done so far. Today every word that came out of his father’s mouth was to tell him how he needed to start saving for his eventual marriage with a bride still unknown, or how Hiccup was a good model to emulate: Yet to see sixteen winters and he already has a trade, a contract to marry with a good and strong woman and already Viking in the eyes of the tribe, but his father used much more words and keep repeating himself over and over again.

As the children laugh again he is tempted to stand up and join them on their table but instead he remains sitting still on his table with his friends mentally cursing the day he thought himself too grown up to keep sitting there.

Laughs at the high table get his attention again, everyone is laughing as Hiccup hides his face behind his hands and Astrid is stuck with an expression between anger and disbelief on her face, Tuffnut looks around and the only one that seemed to know what happened up there was his sister to whom he directs a questioning look.

“Aldis served a roasted haddock to Astrid” she said and paused for a moment for dramatic effect “must have told her something too, because after that she got angry and the others laughed” there was a smirk on Ruffnut’s face, and of course there were so many things to say when his friend was going to marry a Haddock soon, many of those things have the potential to anger her.

Snotlout stood up suddenly and left the table half of his bowl still remaining uneated, he extended his hand to claim the food for himself and poured what was left in it on his own bowl “Why is he so upset?” it’s not that he doesn’t knows that Snotlout wanted Astrid for himself, the same could be said about him, Fishlegs and probably every unmarried and widower of age in Berk, but none of them are acting like Snotlout.

Fishlegs smiled a little and said “He was probably so sure he would get Astrid he never even thought she could marry someone else, I mean the possibilities of this” his hand signaling to the high table were Astrid was sitting next to Hiccup, she was still angry and Hiccup seemed to be trying to calm her down “were never out of single digits. Snotlout’s dad was always talking to the Hoffersons trying to make a contract” Well that still didn’t made sense, nothing was done until the contract was signed and after that no one could do anything about it “I guess he is feeling robbed.”

Ruffnut snorted.

He decided to keep filling his mouth with the extra food he got rather than keep talking about it.

0x0x0

Snotlout stood by the door of the Great Hall waiting for Fishlegs, it didn’t took him long to realize that he needed the help of the stout teen to solve this problem because no matter how hard he tried he could not find a way out of it.

What took long was waiting for Fishlegs to get out but once the blond was getting out he quickly grabbed his thick arm and pulled him away so they could talk alone.

Fishlegs asking now and then where he was taking him until he thought they were far away from anyone to overhear he stopped and finally asked “How do you break a betrothal contract?” Fishlegs was always talking about plants and dragons, maybe he knew something about laws as well, if anyone knew how to do that it would be him.

The blond Viking didn’t reply at first, taken by surprise before he said “You can’t.”

Blood boiling Snotlout snapped and practically yelled “There has to be a way?!” he couldn’t have lost to Hiccup “The Useless”, the idea of it was laughable at best.

Fishlegs cowered and seemed to shrank before him visible intimidated and said in a meekly whisper “The only way the contract can be broken is if somehow Astrid was shamed and Hiccup repudiate Astrid.”

Was it really that easy?

He patted Fishlegs on his shoulder and then left smirking and satisfied.

0x0x0

Astrid was back on her everyday clothes walking with her mom each carrying an empty bucked towards a well in the sides of the village, her mom usually liked to go there alone even if it meant to carry two heavy water-filled wooden buckets back home.

She would always offer to help but Ingrid would refuse and send her away with a smile and she would instead go train with her axe, but today when she actually wanted to be send to train her mom actually accepted her help with a smile.

She wanted to go vent because she couldn’t last night and she wanted to train after Aldis Jorgenson prank on her yesterday “You might as well practice having a haddock in your belly” she said as if it was funny, when everyone else but Hiccup laughed her rage only grew but she couldn’t say anything because Aldis was Stoick’s sister and a born Haddock even if she was now a Jorgenson and she obviously wanted her former and almost extinct clan to flourish again, Aldis was just expressing her well wishes in a bad form but she still was wishing her a good marriage.

It was just so infuriating!

She was not marrying to just pop out heirs for Hiccup! The prime reason was because he felt he would need her help to kill the dragon Queen and end the war but of course, no one but them knew of it.

So as she was walking besides her mom she was surprised when a hand at the tree line signaled her to come, curious and wanting to get away she told her mom that she would be right back hoping to get the chance to do some training after finding out what that person wanted.

Her surprise turned to disgust when she found out the person whom called her was none other than Snotlout, his smile was big and he had a big fur rolled under his left armpit and before she could ask what he wanted he grabbed her arm and pulled her deeper in the forest.

Or tried too because she immediately broke free “What do you want!?” she asked angrily, it seemed that lately the Jorgenson were getting more annoying than usual.

“I found a way to break the contract Princess!” he said clearly excited about it “We just have to” he paused and started wiggling his eyebrows and his smile threatened to split his face in two.

While he was happy she was seething in anger, his plan was to bed her and shame her to make her undesirable to Hiccup!

She hit him, hard.

Feeling slightly better with herself but even angrier than when he called her she turned around to go back with her mother but she was stopped by Snotlout grabbing her arm again.

“Princess, I know it isn’t good for you but I swear I’ll get my dad to make a contract after!” Snotlout told her as fast as he could, she was about to hit him again but the sound of dry leaves crumbling under the hurried steps of a third person made her turn to watch out for the person who was arriving.

It was her mom, and she wasn’t happy at all, before she could react Ingrid Hofferson reached for her and separated her arm from Snotlout’s hand and pushed him away from her before either she or the Jorgenson boy could react.

“Listen to me!” Ingrid spoke with a threatening voice gaining Snotlout attention “I know you wanted my daughter for yourself, but she is now betrothed to Hiccup and she will marry _him_ next month…” she paused and poked the boy on his chest three times “not you, _him!_ And if I catch you around Astrid one more time I’ll take this matter to the chief!” her mom paused again as if letting the message sink “Is that clear?!”

She was grabbed by the arm again and pulled out of the forest and towards the well once again, she wasn’t exactly angry at her mom, but she could have handled it by herself “I had it under control.” she said, she wasn’t a child that couldn’t protect herself and her parents haven’t really acted this way before with Snotlout’s unwanted advances, they trusted her to keep the boy at bay up until now.

“I know” her mother smiled to her “I saw you punch him” it was genuine, she could tell but then she scowled “But he is a Jorgenson, he would have taken more and more punches to try to _convince_ you” Ingrid expression turned sour as if she just ate something foul “And he would have not stopped, you would probably had to knock him out to get away.”

Her mother seemed sure about it, but Astrid had to wonder if that was really the true, she had known Snotlout all her life and he was as stubborn as any Hooligan on Berk… but to actually try to… her face filled with disgust at the thought that. If he really tried, she would have really knocked him out.

They walked in silence until they got to the well where there were a few women all with two water-filled buckets at their feet, all of them talking to each other and all of them turned to greet her mom and her.

“Oh you brought your daughter today?” Halla Thorston, a woman a decade and half older than her mom asked her mother with an understanding tone of voice “Hello there dear!” she greeted her being very friendly to her, she has never talked to her before, at least not directly to her, she was her mother’s cousin’s wife, Astrid only smiled in return unsure on how to respond.

Sighing her mom said “She will be married soon” there was a little sadness leaking on her voice as she looked directly at the older woman’s eyes not with defiance but with gratitude “And I decided to take your council and bring her here.”

That was when she noticed two of the other women there where Yrinut Ingerman and Una Jorgenson, both of them were married daughters of Halla, they waved at her when they noticed she was looking at them, she nodded her head acknowledging their greetings, then she looked around and noticed that here many of the women where mothers, daughters or sisters and everyone was at least distantly related except from Brunhilda Thorston who came from another Island, and sadly Ruffnut wasn’t here, which made her realize the one thing everyone other than her had in common: they were all married, and soon she will be one of them.

Was this why her mom never let her help her with the buckets?

“You must be so excited my dear, marrying the Heir!” Halla commented with real enthusiasm.

She was about to reply but her mother was faster than her “Oh, she is, she even bathed herself for the announcement!” she paused and conspiratorially continued “I mean Hiccup is the best match in the tribe, fifteen winters and already have a trade, proved to be the best fighter this year,” she paused again and beaming with pride continued “You saw how he got that Nightmare with one blow?!”

Astrid wasn’t that excited if she was sincere, but smiled all the same because the competitive part of her, her most important part, agreed with her mom, Hiccup was the best match for anyone on Berk and he was hers even if it wasn’t a competition about who had the best husband she did, indeed, won it.

She just needed to get time to talk to Hiccup in private about what exactly he wanted her help with, because she wanted to start preparing herself to be of use.

Her anger at the suddenness of the weeding subsided too, but she still was a little displeased learning with the chief’s lies.

She hoped to train him too, his tricks have worked so far but he must become a true fighter to become a chief Berk will listen to.

0x0x0

The horn in the middle of the night awaked him the same it had waked everyone else and as it was routine he dressed himself as fast as he could and got out of the house in a hurry, but unlike previous nights he was not looking to fight the raiding dragons, he was running through the village dodging Vikings running in different directions all of the going to their posts the same way he was running to Gobber’s shop to do his part as the blacksmith apprentice.

As he was passing close to his father who was listening to the sentries’ report that he was stopped by him with one massive hand firmly placed on his small shoulder he looked up at his father expecting for him to ask what he was doing outside.

“Hiccup you will be with Hoark tonight” his dad told him as he pushed him towards the big Viking whom just nodded his head to his father first then to him with a small smile.

He was surprised to say the least, but it just his luck, the first time he wanted to help in the forge he is sent to battle “Where is your weapon?” Hoark asked him once he took notice of him being unarmed.

“I left it at home!” he said exalted, he didn’t want to fight, not so soon! “I thought I would be helping Gobber” he explained hoping the larger Viking would just let him go.

“Don’t worry, there will be some on the barn we will defend tonight, go and find one I’ll be there in a minute” It was strange how much Hoark’s attitude towards him changed in a day, no longer he was receiving glares from him, instead he was being patient with him, it was not a bad change, but he didn’t want to fight! “Go to the east, it’s the one close to Dogscale’s shop.” Hoark told him before pushing him to the building they must protect.

He had no option though, so he just ran towards the building assigned to him and much to his surprise he was the first to get there, he doubted but he entered the barn in look for a weapon and shield hoping to not have to use it since without his custom made spear he was just a talking fishbone in front of angry and scared dragons.

He looked around and saw various swords, axes, war hammers, shields and spears in a corner all neatly organized, he took a spear because it was the weapon he felt the most comfortable with after having practiced with it for hours with one yesterday, it was on his way out that he noticed an eel on a basket with fish that was to be salted, he took it and hide it on his fur vest like that time he used one to scare the zippleback on the kill ring.

“Hiccup next time remember to at least get your helmet on and you should really get some armor” he was surprised when Hoark told him this, especially because he wasn’t expecting him to be there already, and again his voice was patient with him, not that he was complaining for it but he does still wishes he could be in the forge with Gobber.

There were five more Vikings with them and all of them surrounded the building and looked at the sky, Hoark put one hand on his shoulder and bent himself to whisper on his ear, "stay close to me, I’ll do my best to keep you safe.” he said and he was grateful for it, even if he didn’t wanted to be here it was nice to have someone you can count on.

They came fast and already spitting fire three nadders and four gronkles from what he could count, he was shoved out of the way by Hoark just as a lava shot from one of the gronkles hit the spot he was on.

With a battle cry Hoark and the other Vikings started to dodge the fire and now and then throwing bolas to the dragons, he could only stand there unsure of what to do except for dodging the occasional shots directed at him.

Then a gronkle burned the door of the barn and tried to enter, two Vikings attacked it’s flanks quickly killing the brave dragon but they had to dodge as the fire from the nadders was directed to them, the fire instead hit the muddied walls of the barn starting a fire.

The dragons landed and tried to get the defenders to flee from them or try to force the walls down to get to the food stored inside, one of the nadders apparently out of shots tackled a Viking and managed to pin him down with its talons while the Viking held his shield up trying to defend himself from the sharp beak like mouth of the dragon.

He couldn’t stop himself, he had to help that person so without thinking he used his spear like a quarterstaff and to hit the head of the dragon making it focus his attention on him instead of the Viking on the ground.

He didn’t even saw the wing coming, he just felt the impact of it right above his right eye, he was pushed back and almost falling when the dragon pursued him pausing momentarily as if he was disgusting before it pushed its advantage but it was too late, he was on guard now and saw him coming.

Not that it helped because he tripped with something once the dragon lunged to bite him again and he was in the ground again, thrusting his spear in desperation trying to make the dragon go away from him.

It was just luck and he knew it because that’s the only possible explanation he got when his spear sunk on the soft scales in the dragons neck making it retreat bleeding profusely, it was then that Hoark appeared from somewhere and finished the dragon in his stead and offered him a hand which he took grateful for the assistance.

“Next time use the pointy end from the beginning” the big Viking told him with a smile before going to help another Viking on his group.

He looked around again and spotted a gronkle sneaking on another Viking’s back he tried to warn him but there were battle cries all around him and he was not heard so he took his spear and again using it the blunt end he attacked the dragon praying it got the hint he doesn’t want to fight it but was instead fiercely attacked by the angrly gronkle whose eyes were now firmly focused on him, the dragon opened its enormous jaws and attacked him, he tried to run away from it but it was chasing him, he finally turned around just as the dragon opened his mouth he thrust his spear again, inside the beast’s mouth and with horror he notices it is the pointy end instead the desired blunt one, the edge of the weapon sinks on the inside aided by the impulse of the dragon’s advance and kills it on the spot and his weapon breaks when the jaws snap shut once all it’s weight touches the ground.

He killed a dragon. Again!

The roar of a nadder to his left gets his attention, the dragon is close, too close to evade, this was it, he was going to die!

But that was not the case, an axe hits the side of the nadder pushing it away from him and making it take flight once again with a bloodied body.

He looks at his savior, the same Viking he helped with the first nadder, and recongnizes him as Dogscales Ingerman whom hands him his spare weapon, a sword before going  to help another Viking with a smile on his face but roaring with an angry battle cry.

The last of the dragons attacking the barn takes up and retreats leaving them with three carcasses and burning walls behind them, Hoarks calls for the fire brigade help and soon the twins, Astrid, Fishlegs and… was that Gustav Larson with a bucket too big for him?

They all come to put out the fire on the walls, it took them three trips from the water reservoir to finally put out the fire.

Astrid looks at him and opens her mouth but says nothing as Ruffnut drags her away after spotting another building on fire.

“Another group coming Hiccup either get another spear or grab a shield!” Hoark warns and orders him, he rushes inside putting Dogscales sword on his belt he grabs a new spear before looking at the ceiling hoping for this to be over soon.

**A/N: sorry for the long wait had a busy time this last two weeks, hope you dear readers enjoyed the chapter, will be seeing you guys soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

The raid wasn't the biggest she has ever seen, in fact, some of the older Vikings were happy that it was a smallest of the year, it lasted around one hour and the damage to the village was light.

Now everyone in the village was reuniting close to the Great Hall, she and her friends were among the last to go there since their job isn't to defend their food like the warriors and adult Vikings, so they still had a couple of burning walls to take care of when the last dragon took to the sky.

Fishlegs, the twins and Gustav were walking towards the people to get more instructions from the chief, they were more than a little disappointed, because they had already passed Dragon Training, like Snotlout whom was allowed to fight with the warriors the same as Hiccup.

Hiccup she could understand, he is this year champion, this was part of his reward, he was an adult Viking now and it was expected of him to help with the fighting.

But Snotlout wasn't even in the finals and he was allowed to fight in the raid and on his place Gustav Larson tried to help, tried because he wasn't trained to carry a filled bucket of water and run, he spilled at least half of the water before they got to the fire they were trying to extinguish.

He still helped of course, but he tried to show off his muscles every time her eyes had to go close to him, he wasn't as bad as Snotlout but it was still irritating.

The night wasn't as busy either and the highlight of it was when they had to put out the fire on the barn Hiccup was helping to guard, the torches and the burning building offered enough light to see the blood on Hiccup's face, she was worried about him, it was the first time he fought in a raid and he looked rather scared.

But he still had a sword in hand and all his limbs still attached, so there is that at least.

They also saw Snotlout in another barn defending the cattle but he looked rather smug and when he saw them it was clear he will be rubbing on their faces that he was already fighting while they were stuck on the fire brigade until after the winter.

Her aunt Thora came to her and with a smile she separated her from the fire brigade and pushed through the Vikings until they were at the front of it looking at the chief whom was in a good mood talking with his lieutenants.

Finally he talked to the crowd "Hooligans, for the first time this year we managed to keep all our food!" he was loud and moved his arms with great effect to show the pride and happiness he was feeling at the moment "No one got hurt and we also downed fifteen devils tonight!" the tribe roared with pride and relief but the chief still had more to say "It was just yesterday that my son, Hiccup, killed his first dragon in the Kill Ring and made us all proud but tonight he has showed us his valor once more, tonight he killed a gronkle!" Hiccup was pushed to his father looking rather embarrassed and very tired, he wasn't happy either but he still walked until he was standing at his father's side his face and neck red and not only of embarrasment but also with his dried blood and a crust forming above his right eye, once again the tribe roared.

Her aunt handed her a wet rag making sure she had it firmly gripped on her hand she pushed her forward towards Hiccup, the message was clear: make sure he is ok.

When she reached her fiancé and started to clean his face she felt like her life had become some kind of spectacle for the tribe because once again they started cheering.

Some may find the gesture to be romantic but they would do so only because they never saw her aunt pushing her to do this; still, it was nice to verify that there was nothing wrong with Hiccup, and he was lucky too, this will leave a scar.

Her fiancé still looked miserable so she had to ask "Are you Ok?" he just nodded, she didn't believed him but let it pass, for now everything was good.

As the chief distributed the work among the crowd she noticed Snotlout glaring in her direction, not at her, but at Hiccup "We still have to talk" she told him, there were many things to be said between them.

After the chief gave his orders the crowd started to disperse (many complaining the lack of a feast after such a good raid) that her parents and brother approached to them, her mother asking if Hiccup was alright and her father to congratulate him on his first "real kill" which made Hiccup flinch before accepting the praise, while Erik who would spend his time during the raids safe in the Great Hall with the other children started to ask questions to her fiancé like "How many dragons you fought?" or "Did a dragon tried to eat your face?" Hiccup seemed really uncomfortable with her brother.

Soon her mom told her to say goodbye to Hiccup and then she was walking home to sleep, only the carpenters, masons and sentries would work tonight thanks to the minimal damage.

She was starting to feel a little smothered by her mother, it have been years since the last time she got to be pulled home after a raid, normally she would stay out and see where she could help, she wasn't even that tired right now but her mother was literally dragging her inside their, unharmed, home, her brother was walking behind them with more freedom than her!

0x0x0

"The lad did good, better than most really" Spitelout cursed inwardly, he was at Dogscales shop, the only source of light was a torch in a wall and the man was busy making wood planks to repair the damaged structures but he needed to know how Hiccup did on his first night, when he saw the blood on his face and how scared he looked he was certain that he was of no help tonight, that he didn't really killed another dragon and it was just Hoark trying to make Stoick's son look good, but it turned to be true "He wasn't trying to get to the dragons first, or getting in the way, Hel! he even saved me once tonight!"

"Thank you." he left, his face getting red with anger, it is common knowldge that rookies mess up big time on their first raids, like Snotlout did, it is not an exaggeration to say that his son was the cause his group didn't killed a single dragon tonight, his son was always trying to get the first or the last hit and as a result always getting on the way of the more experienced dragon slayers, that or he needed to be saved.

Spitelout was starting to worry, but probably Hiccup was too scared to move and thats why he didn't got on anyone's way tonight, and the gronkle he is said to be killed was probably held down for the boy to kill... He will do that for Snotlout next time, but with a nadder or a zippleback instead than a measly gronkle, it is time his boy gets some glory.

0x0x0

The night after his first kill Hiccup barely slept, and of course, last night he couldn't sleep at all, the raid felt eternal to him and he had to fight the dragons to keep them from stealing their food and it was absolutely horrible!

It was nothing like how he pictured the raids would be when he was a child, the dragons don't come at you politely one at a time, you have to goad them into landing most of the time, you never know where the next fire shot or poisoned spike will come from, and it's not the same as fighting them in a cage like they did during Dragon Training, this dragons were fiercer and dare he say faster and stronger than the caged ones.

It probably had to do with the food, he knows that the dragons in the arena are kept underfed and they can't exactly exercise in their small pens.

So here he was, in the blacksmith, making nails, trying to keep himself awake and being overall miserable, he could still see the gronkle, those jaws getting closer and closer to him and the need to escape he felt the muscles in his arms tense like when his spear made contact with it.

"Ingrid!" Gobber greeted from the window they receive orders from, there were still a few swords and axes on the fire heating up so they could be repaired and the two limbed Viking was most likely taking a breath of fresh air after working all night with the iron.

Soon two heads appeared in the same window, they were Ingrid and Astrid Hofferson, that was unexpected, almost all of the weapons had already been repaired and their owners, including Einar, had collected them and the few Gobber was working on right now were spares for communal use.

From what he has seen their hut wasn't affected in the raid yesterday so they wouldn't need nails to fix the damage as a couple of other Vikings families had.

"Still busy Gobber?" asked Ingrid with a pleasant smile while Astrid joined her at the front of the window.

"Nah! We are almost done, just taking care of the armory's weapons" The blacksmith said with no small relief, he has been working all night long and now it was almost noon, and like Hiccup, he would appreciate a break, "Do you have a something for me?" Normally Gobber was much more talkative than this, so it made Hiccup wonder why was he being so... he was not being exactly rude, but very close to it.

"Oh!" Ingrid said as if she just remembered why they were there producing a knife, obviously blunt, and then instead of handing it to his mentor she handed it to her daughter and pushed her to the side where the shop's door was, and in a matter of seconds Astrid was there, walking through the threshold with a sly smile adorning her face she offered him the knife, he smiled back and took the small blade from her and walked to the shop's grinding stone and took a seat on the stool and started to pump the pedal to make the stone spin.

Astrid's wasn't looking at him but at her mother and Gobber, it lasted only for a moment and soon the two adults pretended to start talking and to not be watching them "Hey!" she said greeting him and lifting her right hand slightly.

"Hey Astrid!" He paused, it was always hard to start talking to her, his mouth betraying him like always does when he is in her presence, it seems that those are always the first words to come out from him when they have to talk "Um..." unsure of what else to say he focused on the blunt knife he must sharpen before saying "Hi."

She leaned on a bench nearby where she could keep an eye on the adults "How was it..." she paused on mid sentence as if searching for the right words to say "Your first raid?" she sounded excited, she probably is, she trained every day for years with that goal in mind and he just had the experience... it's just something that he is never going to enjoy.

At first he doesn't reply, the screeching sound of metal grinding against stone giving him the perfect excuse to think of a proper way to answer "It's not like in Dragon Training" he says moving the edge of the knife away from the rotating stone so he could be heard "The dragons..." he pauses again struggling to find the right words to express how different what he experimented yesterday is from their training "There are more of them than there is of us" she knows that, she was there with him in their nest "They don't come at you. Not at first!" he corrects himself "The first thing they want is to get our food and fast!" he explains and looks at her finding her looking at him with honest curiosity and desire to learn, it was a new side of her and he would appreciate more if he wasnt so afraid and mildly disgusted with himself for not finding a way to just make the dragons go away like he has done with a couple of terrible terrors before while he was exploring with Toothless "When they notice they just can't get the food and fly away they attack us, Fire, spines, lava they try to get you away from the food and then they try to burn a way in..." remembering how Brjof and Sven killed that first gronkle when it tried to go for the food he felt a lump in the throat and had to force it down before continuing "And then it all becomes a mess, they land or fly low enough to be hit" he could feel tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes but he blinks them away pretendint its just dust, Vikings do not cry! "And then we can..." he has already done it, twice even! but he has a hard time saying it "Kill them."

She gets closer to him and takes the knife off his hands inspecting the edge with the tip of her thumb she gets a bit closer and whispers "Was it hard for you?" she puts a hand on his shoulder, it was, of course it was, she knows of Toothless, she knows he'd rather try to tame them than kill them, but he was so terrified of them last night and he forgot everything he learned from Toothless and just tried to help his tribe mates to make it through the night, maybe next time he could try, if... if they just weren't so angry.

He nodded to answer her question.

"Hey Hiccup?" she whispered again, he moved his head to indicate her to continue "You said you wanted my help..." she stopped briefly "But you never said how I could help you."

He blinked, he hasn't really thought much about it... when he first told her he wanted her help he was thinking of how much she would help him just being herself, the strong and reliable Astrid Hofferson, and when she raised the question of her eventual marriage he just panicked and asked if she would marry him instead, because that way they obviously wouldn't have to deal with her eventual husband, but now she was going to be his wife, so what changed?

"If you say that you'll need heirs..." she whispered again, half jokingly, half threatening.

Nervously Hiccup looked around and noticed Gobber and Ingrid looking at them with smiles and maybe trying not to laugh at their attempt at secrecy; well he'll need heirs... eventually, but that's not it "Just keep being yourself" he said with conviction, she can still harness respect from their fellow Hooligans and help him by making their tribe mates listen "You know, being a great Viking, Helping in the raids and stuff."

It looked like he managed to surprise her, he could tell that that wasn't the answer she was expecting but she wasn't displeased either;

"Astrid dear it's time to go back!" Ingrid called just as Astrid's surprise began to wear, his fiancee smiled at him again, it was wider and brighter than before, he promised to find ways to make her smile at him that way again.

0x0x0

Astrid was a lucky lass, Ingrid decided, she was beautiful, strong and talented, the tribe respects her, she had enthralled the tribe's heir, she would, in time, be the Chief's wife and later the Chief's mother.

But that wasn't why she considered her daughter to be lucky.

It was the fact that she fact that she has seen how the lad treats her and how she treats him that made her daughter lucky, for she could see in them the chance of a happy life beyond the titles they will both hold in the future.

The lad obviously respected his daughter, and he has somehow gained the respect and, dare she say, admiration of her Astrid, which was no small feat, happy marriages were built with less than that if both husband and wife are willing to try.

And that in turn made her happy.

However she could not help but worry about her Astrid's life as a Haddock, she would be alone there, she won't have any other Haddock to help her with her future children and as much as she will be helping her when she needs help, she knows she may not ask for it when she needs it.

Not that it wouldn't be funny watching her with bags under her eyes after a few sleepless night taking care of her future grandchild but she is concerned about how much help will Stoick allow from her clan, the Haddock clan has been at the edge of anhilation for the last two generations and as a result the last two oficial members are the chief and her future son-in-law.

Her fear is that the chief will try to limit the influence her clan will have over her grandchildren, like it happened with Aldis and Hiccup: any women of a certain age on the island knows that Spitelout forbade his wife to help her brother raising her small and weak nephew arguing that his fate was in the hands of the Norns and they shouldn't meddle with it.

What if the chief doesnt allow them to help Astrid?

No, it won't be like that, Stoick is a smart man, he will surely see that their grandchildren will only benefit from the help the Hofferson clan offers, and that they all want the same thing after all: that the little ones grew strong and healthy, unlike that despicable man.

0x0x0

'Where have I gone wrong?' Snotlout asked himself as his Princess walked back home with her mother, the wench that denied him the opportunity to free the girl he loves from that hateful arranged marriage.

He as been watching the hut that belonged to Einar Hofferson all day waiting for Astrid to go out so he could explain his plans to her, but the only time she has come out it was with her mother and only to go to Gobber's shop and there his Princess was pushed inside with Hiccup.

He has to find a way around Ingrid Hofferson!

And as if fate itself was taunting him, halfway Thora Hofferson joined the other two Hofferson women. It woudln't be easy.

**A/N: Short chapter I know, but It felt right to end it here. please Read and Review. Also, next chapter the story will be classified as M just to be sure**


	7. Chapter 7

**I DON'T OWN THE HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON FRANCHISE!**

**I should add a warning, there is a mention of teenage pregnancy on this chapter, now on with the show**

Stoick "The Vast" was walking home with the sun reduced to a semi-circle and after attending to his duties he couldn't help but be worried.

The sheep and yaks still have plenty of pasture to go by, the fishing ships can still venture to the sea and bring their catch for a few more weeks, the lasts crops will be harvested soon, they have to put more effort getting salt though, or they won’t have enough of it to preserve the fish for the winter, maybe he should sent a few of his sentries to help in the brine.

If they manage to hold on their food they won't have to ration the it in the winter, of course, that it's the cause of his concerns, while the last raid two weeks ago was the ideal outcome in the sense that they had retained their food and also got a few carcasses in the process, the likeliness of another successful defense was almost nil.

Next time there will be loses, that is almost certain, and it was due any day now, and to make matters worse, his son's wedding its due in a fortnight, so even if they somehow managed to minimize their loses, the feast will be the cause of rations this winter, so how much exactly will his people suffer? Was it right for him to make it such a grand event?

His son was finally acting like a true Viking and that was something to celebrate!

But he really couldn't put aside his duties to the tribe aside and waste valuable food like that, even if he sends hunting parties to bring wild boars and other game from the island's forest there won't be enough to have a feast and avoid starvation... 'If only those Gods dammed devils raided I would at least know for certain how much food he has left!'

As he enters his home he couldn't avoid regretting that last thought, it is not only food that the dragons take, but also lives, his people often die while trying to protect their food, their houses, their families, their homes, they all risk their life’s to keep what they have and it is selfish of him to wish for the raids to come faster when everyone else is dreading them, including his son.

He still remembers that time before their last quest for the nest when he told Hiccup he would be joining Dragon Training, and the absurd answer he got back then: they dont have enough bread-making Vikings, his wandering eyes soon find the head of the gronkle Hiccup killed on his first raid mounted on the wall opposite to where he has his own trophies, that is the proof that his son is a born dragon-slayer.

But he knows his son doesn't enjoy fighting the beasts, even with all his natural talent he seems to loathe the raids... If it was him on his shoes he would be waiting impatiently, when he was his age and won his own class of Dragon training, he spent six months watching the sky for any sings of dragons, he was hungry for glory back then... Now he wishes glory would fill the stomachs of his people, perhaps his son is wiser than he was at his age.

Looking around he notices his home its empty, Hiccup usually goes for a walk after he is done working in the smithy and returns shortly after the sunset, it makes him feel lonely.

Stoick smiles.

It may have been a whim of his son, but thanks to it, this house will feel less of a place with four walls and a ceiling and more of a home, and hopefully within a year there will be a little one waking him up in the night and driving the silence away.

His smile fades as his minds begins to ponder once again at what to do with the feast, and sighing he decides, he will send his best hunters to the forest for a week, they will feast with whatever the return with and in the meantime, he will keep an eye on the sky.

0x0x0

Hiccup has had a hard time getting food for his friend, especially today with his dad checking out the food reserves of the island, it also made him aware that every fish he gives to Toothless is a fish his tribe mates won't have.

But his friend is his responsibility and it is his fault Toothless can't get his own food, so today instead of stealing a basket of fish from the harbor like he usually does he got an old fishing net and an old battered box, he has been working intently trying to make a fish trap with them and a few nails and a rope he got from the shop, he can't keep stealing from his tribe and he knows it.

Hopefully he can catch a few fishes with this contraption, but there is something else, even if his trap works, he cannot set it during winter when the ice surrounds the island, it would be too dangerous... he must find a way to make his friend without his help again.

Today he asked Gobber to let him out early, work has been slow and he hasn't flied with his friend lately and Toothless it's getting restless, he is a creature of the sky, one just have to see his majestic wings to comprehend that... hopefully today they can catch Toothless diner as well, he will have to see if he can find a way to make his friend take to the skies without his help for the winter months, or he fears the dragon won't survive the cold season.

His dad has been talking about rationing their food lately and that means that if food any amount food is missing it will be noticed.

Satisfied with his creation he calls Toothless, his friend is excited and can't keep its noose away from the box he just set into the sea, Hiccup rubs his friend under the chin close to the place that makes him faint when rubbed, he doesn’t want that, not today. If only he could find that spot in the raiding dragons... they would be easy pickings!

No! that’s not what he wants, he must think of a way to stop the dragons, make them flee but he hasn't been lucky so far, and every time he thinks of a new contraption or a trap it always comes back to the fact that if the dragons are grounded in any way, they will be killed, there are too many Vikings that would be happy to put down a downed dragon.

Jumping on his friends back and securing himself to the saddle he can feel the anticipation of Toothless, its been several days since they last took flight, moving his foot to put the pedal that control's Toothless tail in the required position with a satisfying "click."

the Night Fury doesn't wait for his command and takes to the sky in a frenzy climbing faster than he would fall, and their speed only kept increasing and if that wasn't scary enough Toothless start spinning.

This is what he lives for! The wind on his face the world turning up and down at his friend's whim and once they are high enough, to feel the humid sensation that comes from touching the clouds gives you, that feeling no other Viking has ever had... It makes him feel like he can do anything.

As the get away from Berk Toothless ask for more acrobatics and he indulges him, they dive until they fly almost touching the water and he feels drops of water touching his skin before rising again, looking down he spots a bank of fishes swimming very close to the surface "Wanna try getting your dinner bud?" he asks and Toothless grunts confirming his desire for food.

They dive again and the Night Fury's dips his head just enough to catch a few fishes in his jaws, he can see the fishes' tails moving as his friends starts to swallow them, after the last tail is gone the Night Fury looks back to him, asking if they could do that again "Let’s go Bud!"

That is why they are here, to let his friend gorge on fish because he doesn't know how much he can eat tomorrow.

Flying around, making sure Toothless gets enough food, forgetting all of his troubles while he isn't trapped on the ground is a marvelous feeling, it was possibly the most free any person could be.

But it doesn't last, sooner than he liked the sun in the horizon touches the sea and he knows it is time to go back, the trip doesn't take long either, curious he decides to check his trap to see if he got one fish at least.

With effort he pulls the box to the surface using the rope and starts lifting it making sure the water can leave it to decrease its weight and he is rewarded with the satisfying sound water splashing inside, there is a fish inside! It is not big but that means that it worked, in less than two hours he caught a fish.

Throwing the fish to his friend so he could enjoy it he prepares to set it again, 'Maybe make another one, there is plenty of net left'

After a quick mock wrestling match with his friend he heads back to the village and soon the image of a gronkle's head comes to his mind, how proud that thing made his dad! At first he had trouble identifying what his dad was feeling but now he is most definitely sure, his dad is proud of him.

Lately his dad has been trying to spend more time with him but his duties as chief and his own lack of availability are not helping in this matter, but one of the few times they have coincided his dad took the chance to show him how to preserve and mount a dragon's head on the wall, it was a... taxing experience but he had endured it.

He loves his dad, really, but he is perhaps the person that enjoy killing dragons the most in the tribe, he knows his mother was taken by a dragon, it was that dragon and the Queen that made him think that not all dragons were good.

Trying hard to stop thinking about the matter his mind doesn't require much effort to think of Astrid, the blonde Viking he will be marrying, at that thought a smile sneaks to his lips, he still couldn't believe he was actually marrying her! Or that she sometimes goes to the smithy to visit him, with her mother, but he cherishes the times she appears at the shop with something that needs to be repaired, his dad takes him to the Einar's hut sometimes in the nights for him to "Get to know your bride" as he puts it.

Sure almost everything they say it's overheard and they cannot really talk about the things they want but that is a lot more than what he ever expected, and sometimes they do manage to talk about the dragons, the nest or Toothless without being caught, It was she whom suggested him to make a fish trap when he commented about how much food the tribe needs and how they couldn't spar any.

The sun is gone and it is only the faint light of the rising moon that allows him to see where he is going, but he is already close to the village and soon he reaches the forest tree line and a few sentries walking around with torches make it easy for him to navigate the village's roads until he reaches his home and standing in front of the door he looks up to the skies in direction to the nest and whispers "Please don't come."

0x0x0

It was a slow, interesting and incredibly fun process, to learn the basic medical care every married woman should know from the Gothi who either made a vow of silence or was simply mute and it could only be done through a series of games of charades and wild guesses.

It would normally be one of the lesser healers' job to teach her this, but as the future wife of the Heir the Old Woman insisted on doing this personally and Astrid wasn't complaining, it was like reliving her childhood when she would sit in the great hall and listen the Gothi and Gobber would, in a joint effort, tell them a stories like Beowulf's saga or about the various exploits of the Gods like when Thor tried to fish Jormungand or the binding of Fenrir. In here with the Old Woman she felt like a nine year old child again.

And what probably was the best part was that neither her mom or her aunt Thora were here with her, this was the third day she has come to the priestess hut and every time she came her mom or aunt would guide her to the door briefly greet the Gothi and the go back to their chores in a hurry.

The Gothi, in her opinion, was like the grandmother of all the children in the tribe so it came as a surprise to her that both adult women avoided her presence in such a way... In any case, this was like a breath of fresh air to her, her mom and aunt have been constantly at her side the last three weeks, ever since the chief announced she would be marrying his son they had assumed the role of chaperones and sort of teachers of everything wife-needs-to-know things, she appreciated their effort but it was tiresome to have them always at her side, she hasn't expended so much time at her mother since she was seven years old and she was starting to feel smothered by their constant pressure, especially when they made her spin the wool not to mention that strange tea they make her drink every day.

She is almost sad when the priestess signals it is time to end today's class and with it, the end of her lessons, she receives a small box with a few herbs and bandages.

She offers the Gothi a smile in return and heads to the door exiting the hut and she could see the sun is down and there is only a couple of hours of daylight remaining, she starts walking, but not in the direction of her home, this is most likely the last time before the ceremony she will have some time for herself, so realising that she won’t have this chance tomorrow she decides to wander.

The Gothi's hut is next to a cliff but it is also one of the highest points with a hut on the island and she can see almost every building in the village from up here, it is heartwarming, from here she can see the people she will be helping to lead in the future, the sight inspired her to do her best and help Hiccup with whatever he deems necessary.

She could see what she has come to call the "Women Well" because in the last three weeks she has been going there with her mom she has never seen a man using it even once, at this she remembers encountering a few of her married cousins there including Gertha fourteen years old and on her fourth month of pregnancy, she has almost not seen her since she married Knut Thorston last year well, that was before she started going to the well with her mom, since then she has seen her around four times she looks happy to see her every time and they always talk about names for her little one, mostly girls names as her husband asked to name it if it was a boy.

It was nice to get in touch with her old acquaintances again but she was getting tired of every woman there staring at her belly when they think she isn't looking, besides that she sort of misses Ruffnut, she hasn't properly talked to her since the day her betrothal was announced, she was not avoiding the female twin and she hoped Ruff wasn't avoiding her either, she was her closest friend after all, but she has only seen her a couple of times in the great hall or just passing while walking through the village with her mom and/or aunt.

Her eyes soon find the smithy, Hiccup told her last week that he was taking walks in the forest in the afternoons and of course she understood he was seeing Toothless, maybe she could use this escapade to go look for them and who knows? Maybe get a ride on dragon back?

She must admit, that it was quite the experience and she wouldn't mid repeating it. She heads to the forest in direction to the cove, careful to not be seen and called back home.

0x0x0

Three weeks on watch and Snotlout was almost going crazy, for three weeks he did his best to discretely watch Einar's hut waiting for Astrid to go out alone.

And for three weeks he watched her going out always with her mother or aunt, sometimes both together, sometimes with even more women at her side, he was on the verge of giving up but today his patience would be rewarded.

He followed Astrid and her aunt to the Gothi's hut and the older woman left almost immediately leaving his Princess alone with the old priestess the same way it had been the last two days, but on those days he had been too slow to catch up to his beloved before she found herself in company of a clan mate.

Today however she was walking to the forest, alone, he could feel his chest swell with happiness, today he will do it!

He tailed her as silently as he could and once they were far deep enough into the forest he abandoned all caution and called her "Hey Princess!" he was smiling as she turned around her face tainted with a sour expression, probably because of how close her wedding with his useless cousin is.

It gave him more things to be happy, today he will be helping her, he will become a man and she his woman, he will take her kransen show it to Hiccup, and Useless will be so angry he will call off the wedding and his dad will be free to make an offer to the Hoffersons... Maybe they could marry the same day she would have married Hiccup?!

That would be awesome!

"What do you want Snotlout!" his princess said aggressively, already going back to her normal self now that she is alone with him and this time her wench of a mother won't stop them like last time.

"I came to save you!" he announced, in his long and tedious hours of watch he practiced that line over and over again, those were the words that she will remember forever, maybe she will brag about him telling her that when she talks to her friends?

"Save me?" she asked, she seemed confused for about a second "Save me, from what exactly?"

Sighing he explains "From your wedding with Useless..." how could she not get it? He was clear last time, he gets closer to her and grabs her forearm delicately, and sometimes women can be so slow.

She pushed him with her free arm her face growing red... maybe she is embarrassed, this will be her first time after all, his too, but she doesn't need to know that.

"SNOTLOUT!" she yells, far too loud, he puts a finger on his lips to signal their need to be silent, if she is so loud now when they are actually doing it the villagers won't take long to find them "Have you ever thought, that I would want to marry him?!"

Startled at first Snotlout laughs at her joke, she almost got him there "Come on Astrid!" he laughs briefly, it was a good joke "Who would want to marry Useless?"

She opens her mouth "Ahhhrg! Who are you calling Useless, Snotlout?!" she asks, startling him further.

"Hiccup" he says naturally, he has been calling his cousin like that for a good year now, and everyone else knows it is him.

"Hiccup?!" she asks louder than necessary, does she not understand their need for silence... at least before they actually start "The Blacksmith apprentice?!" she pokes him in his chest with her finger, and it hurts "Hiccup, the Dragon Training Champion?!" she pokes his chest again, but harder "Hiccup, the slayer of two dragons?!" she pokes him again and harder than last time, she even makes him take a step back, loose his balance when he steps over a rock and fall on his rear "What use do  _You_  have?!" she asks but she doesnt let him reply "What do you  _do_  all day!?" again he can't answer, she just keeps talking, 'This is confusing!' he thinks, "From where I stand,  _You_  are the Useless!"

'What the Hel is happening!?'

"What do you mean, I'm useless?!" he asks, barely believing she dared to speak to him like that "I Will be this island's Cheif someday!" and he won't allow any woman, not even Astrid! to talk to him like that!

She laughs and her head goes backwards looking at the top of the trees "That was a good one!" she laughs some more "First!" she says lifting a finger "Your are not Chief Stoick's son!" she lifts another finger "Second!" she looks down on him, how does she dare!? "You wouldn't be a good chief, you Muttonhead!" he can feel his face reddening ans she lifts a third finger "Third!" she takes a step back and starts walking away "Hiccup will be a much more better Husband and Chietain than  _You_!"

He is paralized by rage, 'How dare she talk to me like that?!'

She walks further away from him, deeper into the forest 'What does she know?!' he thinks taking a few dried leaves on his hand and crushing them an instant later 'Nothing! She knows nothing, she is just a foolish woman that doesnt knows what is good for her!' he stands up and walks back to the village 'You wasted your only chance Astrid!'

**A/N: Weee! another chapter done! I hope I could make an impression about how mad Snotlout is with Astrid telling him all that to his face.**

**And more good news?**

**The wedding is on the next chapter"**

**Please dont forget to Read and Review.**


	8. Chapter 8

It was the weirdest month and half of her life, the world she knew was upside down and it was like most people were happy with it ‘I mean it isn’t a bad change’ but it put her in a precarious situation with her father.

It all started like normal, like every new stage of her life always started, like the time she, her twin, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Astrid were allowed to help in the dragon raids by putting of the fires the beasts started like every children that sees twelve winters do. Astrid was the best, like always, Fishlegs was talking about numbers and weird facts about water and fire, like always, Snotlout was trying to show off just how a great Viking he was, like always… oh and he started to ask Astrid out to _train_ with him, it wasn’t that important boys were supposed to start to act like that at some point in life, she and her brother were trying to one up each other, fighting between them and pranking people, like always. And they all barely knew the Chief Stoick had a son their age named Hiccup.

That was normal life, simple life and she would have liked if it kept going that way, and when the newest stage of her life started everything still looked normal, Astrid was the best like always, Fishlegs was talking about odd facts about dragons and putting them in numbers, like always, Snotlout was trying to show off just how a great Viking he was and shamelessly trying to woo Astrid, like always, she and her brother were still trying to one up each other, fighting and kind of forced keep pranks low or face the wrath of their father and/or chief, like always, but this time Hiccup, the chief’s son, who was always getting into trouble with one of his contraption was included like it had never happened before.

That, perhaps, should have been the first sing that things were about to change but she ignored it… not that there was anything she could do about it anyway.

Dragon Training started like always, minus the Hiccup included part, their group dynamics barely changed, they just made fun of Hiccup instead of Fishlegs and the natural order of things was preserved… for a while.

It was then that the change started, when Hiccup started _getting good_ but everyone dismissed it, as that was the purpose of Dragon Training after all.

Well that wasn’t the truth either, not everyone dismissed it, Astrid was very, _very_ suspicious of how fast Hiccup was improving “No one gets as good as him… Especially not _Him!_ ” Astrid told her once after she found her in her usual training spot in the night, she just thought it was petty jealousy from her blonde friend, or maybe denial that she was starting to like Hiccup.

In hindsight she probably already knew what was coming and was trying to find a way to delay it, they were already betrothed to each other back then, Astrid was probably trying desperately to win Dragon Training to remain unmarried a bit longer.

She would sigh, but she is currently running side by side with her brother dodging the huge adults that are in front of them, she would have sighed because back then when she thought Astrid was jealous of Hiccup she was starting to feel like he could be a good match for her, prowess in the arena and a bit crazy, she probably should be happy she never acted on that infatuation, now that she was racing the men of the tribe to see who would serve the mead in the great hall she considers it was a good thing, Astrid for all her qualities doesn’t like other people messing with her _stuff_.

She remembers the one time she lifted her axe without her permission, she got _mad_ , of course they were nine years old and her friend didn’t talked to her for two whole weeks… imagine how she would react if she tried to act on her infatuation on her _fiancé?_

Sven Jorgenson tripped over something and fell right in front of her she jumps timing it perfectly to land on his back, jump again, and keep running, but now Tuffnut is a little bit in front of her, she extends her left arm forward to try to catch him but he is just out of reach.

The ceremony was as boring as always, they exchanged rings and swords, it was funny how Hiccup couldn’t keep his sword still though, his was a beautiful sword, engraved with runes to bless it in some way or another, not like she would know, no one ever bothered teaching her to write and read, and she didn’t asked either.

In front of her Tuffnut had to dodge a corpulent Ingerman while she had a clear path ahead , good they are almost head to head now.

Oh speaking of the sword Hiccup gave Astrid, Stoick hid it in a fake tomb and sent Hiccup to find it with what were supposed to be hard to guess riddles, supposedly it would take Hiccup all day, not find it and come back in the night to ask him where they hid it, but instead one hour and half later he showed up with the sword in hand and started cleaning it in the smithy, the look on the chief’s face was worth ten pranks!

“RUN RUFF, RUN!” that was Astrid yelling, she can’t run very fast today because of her dress, she must admit her friend looked very pretty today, her hair had so many ribbons on it! Looking around she notices that she is the woman in the lead, in front of her were all men and Tuffnut was in the lead.

Figures, every woman but her were using dresses, not the best running gear and just another handicap the men used to make the women serve the mead in the feast, she may not be happy with the changes, but she would try her best to change the “men always win the race” tradition today.

Oh yea, before she got distracted she was thinking about how scary all this was!

Her father wasn’t the most attentive Viking on Berk, he would often ignore things that were not on his crop field or trying to kill him, she had hoped her father wouldn’t notice so soon, but right after Astrid and Hiccup exchanged their rings he looked _straight_ at her, he noticed she was the oldest unmarried girl on the island now, and well, she will have to remember not to hit Tuffnut as hard next time, because it was her brother inhaling his snot and then swallowing them, loudly that distracted their father, and half of the tribe along with him, of that fact.

Soon her father will start looking for suitors for her, if she was lucky, he will wait until after she sees sixteen winters and shows she can kill a dragon to raise her, admittedly, pathetic bride price.

Forget about not hitting Tuff as hard, she is going to kill the idiot if he wins the race for the men!

There are two of her cousins in front of her, more tired than her, slower than her, but bigger than her, and they are working together to keep their asses blocking her way… and the Great Hall is on sight!

Her cousins start yelling and roaring.

Grimmnut and Knut better pray to Odin for mercy, because she was sure Loki will be on her side when she prank them for this!

She can hear Tuffnut’s celebrating in the doors of the Great Hall and see as every man that going to him and patting him on his shoulder, back or in the head as if he was an over excited puppy, she stays away from them, there is no sense in going there now.

She waits until Astrid comes and puts a hand in her shoulder and squishes it, not hard, but enough to tell her she appreciates the effort she made, Hiccup runs past them heading to the door, one of the older woman that went ahead serves Tuff the first mug of mead as his prize for winning the race Hiccup leans in the threshold of the Great Hall recovering his breath, she has never seen him smile like that, he just looks so… happy.

He takes a step inside the Great Hall and extend his hand towards her? Oh Astrid is still standing next to her, how silly.

It was funny watch Astrid walk to him trying to hide how angry she is about having to serve mead to him, she never liked to lose, for further proof she just has to remember the tantrum she had when she lost the right to kill her first dragon in front of the tribe.

When Astrid is close enough she takes Hiccups hand as is tradition and she flawlessly crosses the threshold signaling they will have a good marriage, kids and stuff, that is hardly surprising, Astrid never slips, ever.

She gets closer, this is the part she wants to see the most, now Hiccup has to stab one of the support-beams with his sword, she has overheard a few Jogensons joking about how the sword won’t be able to hold itself on it, surely a bad omen, but she can’t help but be curious, she gets a good look at Hiccup’s sword, and the thing looks _sharp_ and it had something coating it.

Hiccup isn’t particularly strong, that is obvious, but it looked like someone, his father probably, has been teaching him how to do this because it was a really good stab, and the blade sinks in deeper than anyone would have expected. ‘Not even Hiccup dares to ruin Astrid Hoffer-Haddock’s wedding.’ the tribe roars in approval as they all start to enter the Great Hall and she makes a bee line to her usual table, the one she always shares with Tuff, Fishlegs, Snotlout and… well Astrid now has a new place and she may never sit with them again… The Heir’s Wife, it sounds funny.

Tuffnut is the first to join her, he has a satisfied and proud smile on his face, still feeling high from winning that stupid race, Fishlegs is the next to sit down his face filled with anticipation like in every feast and the last is Snotlout whom looked like someone told him Yule will be cancelled this year.

“And like that!” Snotlout says pointing to the high table where the chief Hiccup and Astrid and Astrid’s parents are sitting “She ruined her life!” just then Stoick lifts the thirty pound war hammer from Astrid’s legs in that thing they do as part of the ceremony, again for fertility, it was as if the men just wanted women pregnant all the time, and being pregnant doesn’t look comfortable at all!

She shivers thinking of that, more specifically at the thoughts of her own time inside her mom’s belly, she could clearly see herself and Tuffnut fighting inside their mother’s belly as babies, surely not a pleasant thing.

“What do you mean?” Ahhhhh! Her brother just had to make stupid questions, sure it is fun to see Snotlout whine about how Astrid was his yadda yadda yadda! But that was only in the beginning it got old two weeks after the announced this whole thing.

“What do I mean? She just married Hiccup “The Useless”, Can you think of anything worse?!” this was different than usual, Snotlout didn’t look like he was suffering as much as he should with all of this. that put aside, she can think of a couple of things worse than marrying Hiccup, like being sent out of the island, like her mother was, for marriage or marrying a Viking without trade was another.

“Nah, Hiccup is not bad, he knows how to kill a dragon and the way he makes the chief made that face!” Tuff answers almost without thinking, of course he was trying to imitate the look on the chief yesterday but was failing miserably, the person has to be serious for that to work, Tuff will never be able to pull it off.

Snotlout stood up suddenly as if offended that someone dared not to agree with him on this and heads to the Jorgenson’s table close to the high table.

Today’s feast was rather disappointing to be honest, but to compensate for the lack of food it seemed like every Viking was being given twice the amount of mead than normal and no one was complaining, not after last week raid.

The dragons took sheep, yaks and some fresh and salted fish, everyone was upset about it and there was three huts burned to the ground, she and the rest of the fire brigade couldn’t stop them from burning, there were just too many things on fire, the old man Fishfur Ingerman died inside one of those huts, it was a regrettable night.

The only ones that were happy were the Jorgenson who _celebrated_ Snotlout’s first kill, a Deadly Nadder, many people were more than a little upset with them, it was them whom allowed some of the cattle to be stolen and they _celebrated._

But they endured and survived, like always.

There are some things that never change.

0x0x0

The humans are animals that like to keep to their routines, and someone whom has seen as many winters as her knows this more than anyone here.

A week ago she sent an old friend to the Palace of Valhalla burning his remains so he couldn’t come back as a Draugr, and offering prayers to the All-father and Freyja she hoped he will welcome her along her ancestors when it is finally her turn to make her trip there.

People die, and she sends them to Valhalla, that is a part of her routine she could live without, but there are other elements of it, like what she did today, that she would like to do every day until she is ready to drop dead.

Today she bonded two promising young lives together, the clumsy lad and the fierce lass, they both have such a bright future together for she sees they respect each other and know of their duties to each other and there is also the fact that they both know that they have a greater weight than others placed on their shoulders.

The lad born from their Proud and Imposing chief, such was his hurry to make a mark on the world he came earlier than he was expecting and it almost coasted him his life for she has never seen a babe as small as he was, yet as fate would have it, he survived, he learned and always tried his best, not always getting the best results, at least not until just lately.

The lass was born hungry for glory and with a passion for the weapons few men could match, even low status of her clan could assuage her need for glory, instead she grew disciplined and harnessed the respect of all whom got to know of her.

She was passion, perseverance and patience.

He was ingenuity, cleverness and chaos.

Together they complemented each other in a way she has never seen before.

And it brought her joy to see them sitting in the same table smiling and eating and drinking, oh their parents made sure they drank, not much, but enough…

It was almost time, she started walking leaving the children to their games for she has a duty tonight, soon one of her apprentices walks with her, at her side, but without saying a word, he is just making sure she gets to that place safe, she doesn’t blame him, she doesn’t feel as strong as she was a year ago and she knows that sooner rather than later the All-father will be recalling her, but for now she goes on with her life and duties and the tribe’s Gothi, an honor she received from her teacher and she is supposed to pass to someone else before her time on Midgar is done.

She enters the large hut and glares at the petal path that goes straight to the stairs. Couldn’t Stoick lend his bed to the boy for tonight? He knows how much she hates stairs!

Ah that boy will be the death of her.

Offering a hand to Inga, her student and most likely successor, she needs assistance to climb there where the marriage will be consummated and slowly and painfully they start their climb.

The loft is big, bigger than many huts, a show of status fitting of the chief, she immediately sees a stool and walks to it to take her seat, she smiles and sends Inga away, the young couple should feel happy this isn’t like in the past when all the parents would be present to witness the consummation, besides, this wasn’t comfortable for her either and she just knows that the happy girl that spent three days learning from her last week will avoid her eyes like all of the other women do after this.

Some never stop, some recover and look at her more or less like they used to before this, but it is never the same.

She hears steps, many of them, the couple, the parents, Inga’s voice telling them that everything is ready, and it is, here in this poorly illuminated room there is a bed, obviously new, and a fur big enough to cover them both, and of course she is here too, waiting.

Again she hears the steps but this time they are on the stairs, soon the door opens and the young couple enters the room smiling, oh the mead is already working and she can see they feel ready, of course they are, their families always do a good job with tales about the joys of bed, and they must have been waiting for this impatiently, to satisfy their curiosity, with any luck they won’t notice her and she could look in another direction and just pretend she doesn’t hear the noises and when they are done she would just walk out as slow and silently as possible… that dammed Loki, they noticed her right away, she points to the bed with her hand, this is the same every time, she could definitely do without this part of the routine.

The lass goes to the bed first and covers herself with the fur never taking her eyes off of her, the lad goes next…

Sighing she closes her eyes…

She could definitely do without this part of her life.

0x0x0

After what feels like an eternity the Gothi walks out of the room and he climbs the stairs in a hurry, the old priestess has the same smile she always has after witnessing a marriage consummation, and he could only smile in return.

His son is a married man now!

After helping the Gothi down the stairs he hugs Einar, his in-law, and he hopes for a brighter future, then they all scream in celebration and soon the tribe that is standing outside the doors join them.

The Haddock clan feels alive again.

**A/N: Surprise Update!**

**I can picture your collective WTF faces, hope they are as funny as I imagine them to be LOL.**

**In all seriousness I know this was awkward, but I wanted to try something different, we all knew this was going to be awkward, it was supposed to be a traditional Viking wedding and it is always about how Astrid or Hiccup would feel in the presence of a witness and never of how awkward it would be for the witness so I couldn’t resist it.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed reading Ruffnut’s section as much as I enjoyed writing it, the muse bashed my skull today with inspiration and I had the time.**


	9. Chapter 9

Hiccup waked up, Astrid was there as well, and she was awake as well, this was uncomfortable, they were man and wife now, he honestly didn't knew what to do now.

Does he have to say anything?

Can't he pretend he is still sleeping?

"Morning." Gods did he just said that? No wait, it was her.

Better greet her back "Hi, Astrid. Hi." he smiles, this isn't a dream, yesterday did happen! Twice, the first time didn't count because the Gothi was watching, they both agreed to that, but what now?

"So, what now?" she asks while staring directly at his eyes.

"I'm not sure…" he takes a breath "Didn't really planned this far ahead" he tries to smile but he is sure it came out as a grimace. He was supposed to be planning a way to kill the Queen but so far he hasn't come up with any ideas, and to be perfectly honest, most of the time he is thinking about how to deal with the raids.

She takes a deep breath, hopefully she isn't too mad at him "That's ok, I guess, but we better start making some plans, because that is a biiiig dragon" good she isn't mad, she smiles again but this time it is as if she has a purpose behind it "So I do have something I think would help" she says confidently.

Gods he loves his wife.

"Then you are helping more than me" he will have to make up to her later, but he has other things to think about, like the raids…

"First, do you train a lot with your spear?" she ask with interest, he just shakes his head, the only time he trained with it was before his fight in the arena "Ok," she said with acceptance, he is just hoping this won't turn out in some kind of recrimination for his lack of skills with the weapons "Do you train with other weapon then?"

Gods! What will she think of him when she finds out that he never really trained with any weapon?

As the silence extended his wife seemed to find her answer on it "You were never trained to handle a weapon?" Astrid sounded surprised and more than a bit angry "And you are alive after two raids?" she grinned before chuckling slightly "You truly are blessed by the gods."

"And I thought they hated me" because all of his life it felt as if they were mocking him the entire time, he was hte only child without a mother in his cohort, he was the smallest one despite having the biggest dad, he was the only one sent to learn a trade while the others could keep playing.

"Well I guess I'll have to start from the beginning then." Astrid said with teasing smile, what would she start from the beginning, she was being purposefully vague on this.

"Uh, start what Milady?"

She just kept smiling.

0x0x0

Stoick was dressign himself for the day, with a happy smile on his face, the wedding rituals were almost done and any part that could have gone wrong was done and by some blessing of the gods, his normally clumsy son did managed not to embarrass himself like it was his habit before Dragon Training... Ha!, if only he had known that was the answer to all of his paternal problems he would have broken tradition and allow him to enter when he was twelve and started to build all of those strange contraptions to kill dragons, so many headaches could have been avoided, not to mention they wouldn't had to rebuild a few things either.

'If only Valka was here...'

Violently suppressing that last thought Stoick goes out of his room picking up the chest where the Morning Gift is stored and sets it on his table, he could hear noises upstairs, not the kind of noises he heard last night, but at least he now knows they are awake, soon Einar and Ingrid and their son will come and they will be able to properly congratulate the newly wedded couple.

It isn't much, but he enjoys the new life his household seems to have.

Taking his mug he fills it with ale from his barrel and then a loft of bread and some jerky meat, eating his modest breakfast he hears someone knocking his door and he hurries to attend, its the Hoffersons, another part of his now extended family, Gods he was realizing how lonely he was when his only family were Hiccup, Aldis, Spitelout and Snotlout, with Hiccup been a...  _hiccup_ _ **,**_ Aldis always busy with her own household and her son and Spitelout always bragging about Snotlout he didn't had many people left whom he felt comfortable with, perhaps Gobber, but the rest of the tribe looks at him as their chief, and they have a certain image of him that he has worked hard to cultivate, but it was that same image that created a fence that kept his people at a certain distance he felt comfortable with, at least most of the time.

"Come in, come in!" he greeted them as he moved aside to allow them in.

Einar hugged him, Ingrid gave him a sincere smile and Erik... his name was Erik, right? Well the boy just ran in and hurried upstairs towards to knock the door to his loft where Hiccup now lives with Astrid.

"Astrid! Get up you lazy troll!"

He couldn't avoid laughing, it's been so long since there was a happy child in this house, he missed it. The child walked in and asked "Why do you have a bed like the one mom and dad have?"

"Get out you little rat!"

The three of them laughed out loud as the little boy got out of the room closing the door behind him just as the sound of something hitting the wooden wall was heard.

"Come down stairs you two, it's time for the Morning Gift!" Stoick called them.

After a few minutes waiting his son and his daughter-in-law joined them, Hiccup was dressed as always green tunic, fur vest, black leggings and boots but Astrid was wearing an elaborate blue dress, better suited for a married woman than her previous every day clothes.

They exchanged greetings and Stoick opened the coffer so Astrid could inspect it's contents, there were a few jewels in there, along with a few coins and a parchment which was the thing that got the lasses attention first and taking it she gave Hiccup a questioning look, his son took the parchment from her hands and read out loud, the document stated that now a fair number of sheep from the Haddock flock was now of her property, it was a good way to match the bride price in his opinion.

Astrid smiled and then Ingrid took her arm and walked them upstairs again where she would set her hair the way married woman do His son's wife in the way of a married woman, but those were mere details to him, the last of the tension he was feeling evaporated adn turning around he caught sight of Hiccup, he was within arm's reach so he put a hand on his shoulder, he wanted to congratulate his son on "becoming a man" but he knew it would be inappropriate with Einar there.

"So when can we expect grandchildren?" Joked Einar making Hiccup blush, and it was something Stoick wanted to know as well, but at this point it is all up to the gods.

"I'm sure they will come soon" he answered for his son, he and his wife are young, it is just a matter of time with them.

0x0x0

Astrid was walking with her new husband, holding hands and all, every Hooligan that came within sight greeted them eagerly some making jokes about how they should still be in bed, not she would mind...

The joys of bed were very real as she found out last night, she was told that it would hurt at first but tumbling while training was worse than what she felt last night, she kind of missed her kransen which was now safely stored in a box, waiting to be given to her first daughter.

It didn't took much effort to convince Hiccup that he really needed more training than "not training at all" and she does consider him lucky to be whole after two dragon raids, so now they are walking towards the cove where he keeps his pet dragon "Toothless", they are carrying extra clothes for her to change and a few weapons to try, they will choose one for him.

"Hiccup, Astrid!" someone called for them.

It was a blonde woman in a gray dress, her hair had both a bum and braids, she was Brunhilda Thorston, the mother of the twins and she was smiling at them, she liked that woman, despite her low status in the village that from what she has heard comes from the first few years she lived on Berk and the poor way she behaved during the raids that harry the island, from what she heard her former home in the south doesn't has too many dragon raids.

"Morning Mrs. Thorston" Hiccup greeted politely.

"Oh the two of you look so good together!" Brunhilda complimented them "I'll go to your hut later today, I have a wedding gift for you!" she said while nodding to her "I'm sure you know what it is!" since it was her it could only be a kitten, the Thorston's are the only cat breeders in Berk and that was because her family from the south came once a year to deliver the cute furballs, and they sell them to the families of new brides, it means a lot that she is willing to give one as a gift herself.

"Thank you, I'm sure it will help us!" she said unsure of how to respond to such a grand gift.

"Think nothing of it" Brunhilda said as she waved her hand saying good bye.

"That is so nice of her" commented Hiccup, and it was, but they need to go train, the next raid could come as soon as tonight.

0x0x0

Snotlout could taste the leftovers of mead on his mouth, his dry mouth, his head was aching so much and every sound he heard felt like he had a little gnome inside his head trying to cut its way out with a blunt sword.

And he was so thirsty, how come he could be thirsty after drinking so much yesterday?

It made no sense, especially combined with the urge to go to the outhouse to empty his bladder.

'This is what a hangover feels like?" he asked himself, yesterday at the "Feast" he tried to enjoy himself, but with so little food all that was left for him was to drink.

It had to be the most pathetic Feast he has ever attended to, the food was not only limited but it was also bad, he could swear the boar was spoiled and counts himself lucky not to have his belly bothering him as much as his head.

To sum it all up, the Feast was pathetic, just like his cousin, like if anything good could come when it involves Hiccup "The Useless" when he marries he will show him and that fool that calls herself his wife what a true feast is.

Oh! He thought of her again!

It hurts to think about her, because she was rightfully his and she was taken away from him by a talking fishbone and a poor excuse of Viking, and if foolish Astrid expected Hiccup to remain the Heir for long she was sorely mistaken: He was born to be the Heir!

That is was his father always says! And his dad was always right.

'Gods I'm so thirsty' he thought as he noticed just how dry his mouth was, he tried to salivate to alleviate the unpleasant sensation, but he didn't had enough spit to do even that. So without another option he stood up and exited his room, to find his house empty, his mom was probably out doing women stuff, his dad probably was still sleeping.

He filled a mug with some of the clean water his mom kept to satiate his thirst, and then he filled the mug again, but he only started to feel like a normal person by the time he emptied his mug the third time, and worse, he had to use the outhouse really, really bad.

After relieving himself he took a walk around the village, everything was normal and it was kind of reassuring that not everything was upside down.

But there was one thing that was not how it should be, he saw Hiccup and his Prin... and Astrid walking through the village holding hands and all, that was so very wrong.

Unable to resist the look of them he decided to look for his friends, maybe he could hang with the twins and suggest to them to prank Hiccup?

He looked for them on the places they usually hang out, behind their house with their cats, the cliffs that overlook the harbor, the market but he couldn't find them, finally he asked a Thorston and he told him that he saw Tuffnut and his dad earlier with going to the crops and he didn't knew where Ruff was, 'Maybe he should look for Ruff instead of Tuff?'

That was a good question, she was not so bad to the eye and well, she was a woman... and unmarried, maybe she would want to do something fun with him?

But not matter how much he looked he cloudn't find the girl either, he found Fishlegs instead, but hey, His cousin Dogsbreath was probably busy patrolling or something, he can't find head or tails of the twins and other than Fishlegs the only people he could hang out with where younger than him and there is no way he will hang out with them.

"Hey Fishlegs!" he greeted with fake enthusiasm as the stout boy was reading a book, 'Gods he is so boring!'

"Oh, hey Snotlout" the blond greeted back, he was nervous it seems, years of being made fun of tend to have that effect on people.

He didn't really knows how to start up a talk with Fishlegs, they haven't really talked without the others being present and as the silence stretches Fihslegs grows more and more nervous.

"I have to get going, Dad only told me to get something to eat and the go back" as the blond closed his book and headed towards his father's shop, he didn't knew Fishlegs helped on his dad shop.

"Since when do you help your dad?" maybe this was good, maybe he could make fun of him, maybe he could point out the fact that he was not allowed to be a warrior like him? Or maybe he could make fun of how his dad wanted him to do something more productive than  _reading?_

"Dad made me start after Hiccup killed the Nightmare" Fishlegs stated like an everyday fact.

"Makes sense, seeing as you are no warrior" Snotlout said with a grin, feeling so obviously superior to the Ingerman boy.

"No, I'm not a warrior" Fishlegs admitted much to his satisfaction but the blond was still going to the shop and he won't have anyone to hang out with.

"Do you know what the twins are doing?" he asked, maybe he can at least find out how to find his cooler friends.

"Ruffnut I don't know" replied Fishlegs thinking for a moment before completing his sentence "Tuffnut, I think his dad makes him help on the fields, you know we will be adults next thaw, I think they want us to start helping now that we are done with Dragon Training."

Snotlout stayed behind and smiled, it was just as his father had told him: Those whom are not born to rule are put to work.

0x0x0

'Second times can be better.' Astrid thought as she and Hiccup flew on Toothless' back, the first time she was terrified at first and it took a lot for her to calm down, of course the sight from up here is amazing, they cannot even see Berk after an hour of flying away, and this time they were flying away from the nest so unless they found  _another_  nest this will be perfect.

She almost understood her husband need to protect the dragons when they could give you an experience such as this, but the tribe will always come first, that is why she started training him on the use of different weapons.

He isn't bad with the spear, for someone without anyone training him he does really good considering that most of the things he can do were learned by imitating Vikings he watched fighting from afar.

The war hammers are too heavy for him to use effectively so they skipped them.

The axes... well he has no talent with axes and she won't say anymore because it wasn't nice to speak about her husband that way, she shivers every time she thinks of him as her husband, it'll take time to get used to that.

She can say that his best weapon was definitely the swords, he has a better idea what to do with them in general, and he can become really good with them.

Which was good, because the weapon used in formal challenges are swords and shields, so there is that.

But there is one problem that has been bothering her since they started training:He is left-handed.

That is not a problem with dragons, they will never complain if you fight them with the wrong hand but Vikings will, so he is learning... slowly, but she has every confidence that he be very good with enough practice.

And they have already planned to schedule practices every day of the week, and she has to admit that being married to each other facilitates things a lot, now she doesn't have to explain where she is going to her mom or dad, and no one will try to stop them when they go alone into the forest, if not for their marital status they would have to sneak out separately.

They talked about a few things while they were going to the cove, and he agreed to let her keep training and she even got his permission to help with the raids next spring when some child takes her place in the Fire Brigade!

That was something that always scared her about marriage, that her husband would force to stay away from the action, hidden in the Great hall with the elders, the children and non-trained women.

They turned around as the sun started to go down, and she was sad to know that they will have to go back to the land, at least now she can come with him more often, maybe every time even, Toothless didn't made any fuss when she arrived to the cove with Hiccup, unlike the first time, and this time he was even friendly.

Call her crazy but she believes the dragon knows she married Hiccup and is being nice to her for him... she doesn't care as long as she can visit the skies.

**A/N: And thats another chapter done :)**

**It was more of an aftermath chapter and the start of new plots as you can guess with Snotlout's scene, the gang is being integrated to the labour forces now that they are almost 16, all but Snotlout and Astrid that is, the blonde because she is technically a wife and she has to work indoor to keep her household working and Snotlout... well, you'll see**


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own HTTYD, probably never will.**

Winter was almost here, the air was already cold enough to be painful when it touches their bare skin of your face and soon the rain will turn into snow.

The fishermen have gone out at dawn and stayed three days at the sea trying their best to fill their ships as much as possible, the, the farmers have already harvested their crops, women, children, elders and everyone not busy are either salting the fish and meat or helping to collect salt from the brines.

And anyone near the harbor is called when the ships come back from the sea with their hauls, even him, because no job is ever too small for a chief, he was working with his people right now, filling wheelbarrows and carts with fish so they could be later pulled by a couple of bull yaks or pushed by a Viking.

Hiccup was coming back to the harbor with his wheelbarrow empty ready to carry another load to their warehouses where they will be preserved for the winter, like the rest of his people, his is working in a frenzy, knowing that they must finish while they have sun light because they will need the candles for the long winter nights.

His old friend Gobber is at the warehouse, helping there at the best of his abilities, the master smithy of his tribe has always been busy there, not only helping with the fish but also counting how much they have, it'll be him whom will let him know how much they will have to ration their food.

There are a few pregnant and lactating woman in the tribe too that will need extra food for their little ones and his heart aches thinking of one whose baby it's supposed to be born in the beginnings of the springs, he will pray to Friga for the babe to be born on time and not a week earlier.

His daughter in law was probably at the warehouse as well, escaping from the wool, linen and the spinner she seems to hate with passion.

It has been hours and the Vikings are working as part of something bigger to manages to unload and transport the ships’ haul, looking up he manages to see he son with another wheelbarrow full of cod, salmon and haddock, but after long hours of comings and goings his pace is now slow and tired, like that of many other Hooligans that have been working without a break, his own arms are sore and aching from all the nets full of fishes he has been lifting.

The noise of a turned wheelbarrow get his attention and he sees Hiccup sitting on the wooden floor and all of the fish he was carrying spread around him, some even fell in the cold water, in front of Hiccup was Mildew “The Unpleasant” a seventy-ish elder who has earned his epithet time and time again.

“Watch where you are going, runt!” sighing Stoick decided to check on the troublemaker.

“Are you okay, son?” he asked noticing how Hiccup was holding his keen with a pained expression on his face.

“It’s just a scratch dad” Hiccup replies, but if the blood on his pants are to be taking into consideration, his son will be limping the next two or three days.

“You’ve done enough for today, get your lass, go home and get that cleaned.” he said pointing to his bloody leg, besides, they’ve been at this for hours.

Nodding Hiccup stands up and tried to speak but the elder spoke before he could “You consent him too much Stoick, you should make him clean his mess!” the thing with Mildew is that he doesn’t like Hiccup, his was the loudest voice calling to give his premature and small son to Njord, he didn’t even claimed it to be mercy like some others did, he just wanted to uphold tradition.

“I can still help in the warehouse dad” Hiccup argued, he was just as stubborn as his father and that put a smile on his face, his son didn’t wanted to abandon their people when they needed him.

“No sense, it’s the first week of your honeymonth, you should be in your loft, with your wife making me a grandson!” Hiccup blushed at his comment, his marriage so new that he probably wasn’t used to wake up with a warm body next to him (something Stoick himself has forgotten), besides, many, many Vikings have used the same excuse to avoid certain jobs.

Still blushing Hiccup leaves him to deal with the unpleasant elder.

“What do you need, elder?” Stoick says forcefully, to let Mildew know that he doesn’t want to expend more time with him than strictly necessary, not after he just tripped his son.

“I heard that Fishfur died in the last raid” it was a statement but it sounded more like a question to him, and for a second he thought he could empathize with the sour elder, Fishfur and Mildew were about the same age, they weren’t in good terms the last few years, but they must have been friends at some point… his empathy was crushed when he spotted the glee and anticipation on the surviving elder’s face. What was he up to?

“Yes,” Stoick said curtly, wishing now more than ever that Fishfur were still alive, if only to erase Mildew’s smile “He didn’t made it out of his hut this time.”

Mildew’s smile became a feral grin “Then the village needs a new elder in the council.” So that was it? Stoick could feel his anger growing at the ambitious old man.

“Yeah, Magnus Hofferson or Madnut Thorston will take his place, don’t worry about it.” Stoick said with satisfaction, both were good men that lived a long and good life and they have plenty of family to worry about.

“But I’m older than them!” Mildew’s indignation was evident, so, what if he was? Mildew doesn’t care for the tribe at all, he has done nothing to earn the position, he doesn’t even live among them! He simply isn’t qualified for the job.

“And the Gothi is older than you, but not for that I’ll give her the job.” Stoick feels guilty for deniying Mildew, but in his heart of hearths he knew that a man like him would do no good in the council.

“Breaking tradition again?!” Mildew practically growled to him, he doesn’t care if he tries to intimidate him, but sadly he had a point that he couldn’t refute “I’ll bring this up in the next Thing!” with that last threat the elder left with an insufferable smirk on his face.

Stoick sighed, this was a battle he wouldn’t win.

0x0x0

Autumn is gone, and her childhood left with it, ironically, winter has brought her a new life.

She was still assimilating all of the changes in her life, a week into her marriage and she still wasn’t used to wake up when Hiccup start moving in the morning, her husband usually awakened earlier than her, and embarrassingly enough she has waked up three times having forsaken her pillow in favor of Hiccup’s warm but bonny chest, but it was still better than the time she waked up with Hiccup using _her_ as pillow. Things like that never happened when she shared a bed with her brother, probably because the little rat kicked while he sleeps.

She had more power on her new household, but more responsibilities, many, many more responsibilities, her time to train was reduced to whatever time she had after making sure her new home was in order, and it was a big home.

But she still trains every day and makes sure Hiccup trains as well and she was doing her best so no one notices he is a leftie, but it’s hard, it seems to take him several times more effort to master any move with his right hand than it does when he tries with his left one.

But they train and that is the important part, they are still improving and they have time at least.

They probably won’t have time for it today, because today all of Berk’s fishing ships returned with their haul after risking the first winter’s storms or sinking to the first ice shards to get as much fish as possible to stab off starvation, at winter and every hand available was helping either unloading, transporting or preserving the fish or working hard to get the last of the salt from their brine so they can preserve their precious food.

Earlier today she visited “Toothless” alone because Hiccup was dragged, by Stoick, to help in the harbor, and she was willing to admit that visiting the dragon without Hiccup was a little bit more intimidating than she expected.

The beast acted different, but she was willing to admit it still behaved better than her kitten “Loki” which she aptly named because she has caught the mischievous, little furball more than once trying to steal from their pots when she turned around to get one thing or another, she appreciated Brunhilda Thorston’s wedding gift though, the white fur with black spots and green eyes was simply adorable. It also came as a surprise that both dragon and cat liked to be scratched behind their ears… she assumed that the things at the side of its head where ears anyway.

The fish-traps at the cove were almost empty, the dragon emitted a sorrowful warble at the sight of the small meal and then after consuming his food, it begged her to climb on its saddle, she was not the expert but it was obvious the dragon wanted to go fishing for more food.

That had stunned her, she didn’t believed the beast trusted her enough to let her ride it without Hiccup. She still had a hard time believing it, but she actually apologized to the dragon and reassured it that tomorrow Hiccup will take them to fish and “Toothless” actually seemed to calm down after that.

After feeding the dragon she joined her former clanswomen in the warehouses in their work cleaning the fishes and that’s where she found another change she has yet to adapt to.

She was being included in the chats the other women previously tried prevent her from listening, some were funny, like the time Treeteeth emptied a bucked full of water on her husband when he tried to skip wash day, others she could have gone all her life without hearing, mostly bed stuff, and worse, they asked her about Hiccup! In that moment she would have liked to be talking with Ruffnut instead, but by now she was sure the Thorston girl was actively avoiding her, she has gone to her hut twice and both times Brunhilda told her she _just_ missed her, and now? Now she knows she is here like almost every girl, woman and child on the island, but she has not seen her once.

Stoick commented once during a meal that almost all of her peers, are now working in one place or another: Tuffnut on his father crop fields, Fishlegs in his dad’s carpentry shop, and Ruffnut has been helping her mom on their household work and with their cats, that stuff sounded a lot like what her mother had her doing after she was betrothed to Hiccup.

Astrid realized that Dragon Training was a rite of passage for everyone involved , not just the winner, because all of their lives changed and in a way they were all adults now, and next thaw would only make it official.

Her clanswomen fell silent, as if everybody had already shared their news, gossip or comments, and they are all working with a smile… it feels comfortable.

It’s because the silence that she can hear a familiar cackle, she looks around searching for Ruffnut, she finds her just as a woman moves to hang the salted fish to dry, Ruffnut spots her as well and hides.

She leaves the fish she was working on half done and hurries to catch her friend before she can disappear again, she doesn’t know why the twin has been avoiding her but she wants to find out.

Astrid followed Ruff around the building towards the exit, even in the small and crowded building it is impossible to hide again after being spotted.

“Why are you avoiding me?!” she asks while grabbing Ruffnut’s shoulder to make her turn around to face her, she hasn’t talked to her in over a month!

Even before opening her mouth her friends face tells her that she’d rather be anywhere but here with her, and when she opens her mouth no words come out of it, just a moan of resignation.

“What did I did to you!?” she asks again, she honestly can’t remember doing something that could have offended her friend enough to act this way.

“You got married!” Ruffnut replies with rage in her voice as she frees her shoulder from her grasp.

Now was her turn to remain speechless, what do you say to that? How that is even a problem?!

“You married, and if my dad sees us together he’ll remember that I’m unmarried…” Ruffnut stopped talking but the look on her face told her she was trying her best to explain her situation but was failing to find the words “And, and he’ll start looking for suitors!” her friend took a deep breath and a step back “And I don’t want to marry!” she said softly as if she was afraid that someone else would hear her.

Astrid could understand that fear, Hel! She shared it not long ago, but she knew that there was no way of escaping, the best she, or Ruffnut now, could do was trying to delay it for as long as possible, that was one of the reasons why winning Dragon Training was so important to her, she knew that Ruffnut wasn’t fond of the idea of marriage but it was as if she was blaming her for the pressure her family may be putting on her. She won’t apologize though “Ruff…” she started, but wasn’t sure what to say, “Every girl on Berk has to marry,” they are told so since the moment they start talking, they are told that you’ll marry one day and… and the other thing every girl on the island has to do “and mother children” that still scares her, a lot, but it is part of the package, she just hopes she can delay _that_ for a few more years.

Ruffnut cringed when she mentioned the children part “I know,” she said her shoulder falling and her eyes fixed on the floor, but then she looked at her with genuine curiosity “are you…? She asked, her head nodding towards her belly.

It took her less than a second to understand what the other blonde was asking, how could she not? Ruffnut wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last “No, I’m not,” She said shaking her head from side to side for good measure, she didn’t thought so, at least, her blood should be coming any day now “I don’t think I am” she corrected herself, suddenly not feeling so certain about it.

In that moment Ruffnut pointed her to the door where Hiccup was entering, but this time he wasn’t pushing a wheelbarrow and he was limping a bit “He looks like he needs you” she told her trying to go back to her mother, but she caught her before she could go too far, Hiccup didn’t seem to have noticed them yet so she had time, sure, her husband might need her, but he won’t die if she doesn’t go immediately after him.

“Look, Ruff, I know how you are feeling , but Berk is at war, and we need warriors…” in that moment Astrid noticed that she was about to repeat the words her dad told her when she was eight and he found her talking with her cousins about her dreams of becoming a warrior and making the tribe respect the Hofferson name again by fighting dragons… also mentioning that she would never marry so all the glory she would get would go to their clan “And men are too weak to carry a babe in their bellies for months!” she instead said what her mom told her after her father’s speech.

Ruffnut flinched “You sound like my dad now” she said grinning.

“Weird” Astrid grinned back at her “It’s what my mom told me after dad told me I would have to marry.”

Their grins turned to smiles for a second, but then Ruffnut’s eyes focused on her forehead and her smile became sassy, and asked “So you aren’t…” she dragged the tips of her fingers to draw a line in the same spot her kransen used to be “Anymore?” the question made Astrid roll her eyes, and Ruffnut took that as her answer “How is it? How does it feel?” she asked conspiratorially.

It was Astrid’s time to grin though, she turned around to find Hiccup sitting at a table helping to salt the fish “Hiccup!” she yelled to get his attention and the she tried to cross the distance between them when her husband smiled, looking back she watched the perplexed expression on her friend’s face before realizing that her questions wouldn’t be replied, and if Ruffnut was half as curious as she was before her wedding night she would have to ask her again, so it was Ruffnut’s turn to seek her. The new member of the Haddock clan smiled at that thought.

0x0x0

Almost the entire tribe was on the Great Hall today, the last haul before fishing becomes a gamble where the fishermen bet their lives has always had the effect of uniting the tribe, the fishing crews would stay at Njord’s domains for as long as possible to bring as much bounty as possible and once they are back everyone helps them to unload, store and preserve the precious food they risked their lives to bring.

With certain exceptions, of course, a few select warriors and sentries are not asked to help because they will start their own perilous jobs: night shifts. The increasingly cold winter weather has coasted a few men their lives in the past.

Which is why today all of the brave men that risked their lives in the sea and those who will risk theirs tonight are honored by being allowed to share the High Table with their Chief, or at least be seated in the tables surrounding the burning heart of the he Great Hall to keep them warm.

Of course Spitelout is sitting right next to Stoick as is his right not only as one of the tribe’s best warriors but also as his brother-in-law and even if Stoick doesn’t like to admit it: as father of the future chief.

“And the firewood and some timber are already stocked within the shelters, the shelters themselves have been winterized so you will be as warm as possible in a winter night.” Stoick was explaining them all the “comforts” they will have tonight to survive until dawn, but of course, every man on duty tonight was also covered in as many furs as they could, Spitelout was wearing wolf furs and in great quantity so it was clear that he would be the one who would suffer the least tonight, and also receive the most honor because he was volunteering.

“Snotlout, Snotlout! Oi, Oi Oi!”

He could see Stoick scowl when his son entered the Great Hall with some of his cousins, normally the chief would pretend to not care but he always knew his brother-in-law was jealous of his perfect Viking son, not that he can blame him, because having a hiccup for a son must not be easy, and even now, they both knew it was just a matter of time before Hiccup screws up again.

“Lout?” the chief got asked softly, almost whispering, Stoick rarely called him ‘Lout’, he only did so in the privacy of their homes when something isn’t of a particular importance, so Spitelout turned his head to face his chief and smiled to show him he was listening “I didn’t saw your son in the harbor today, was he helping with the salt?”

Spitelout blinked, he slept for most of the day in preparation for tonight, Stoick must have taken his silence for an answer and told him “I have seen Snotlout wasting his time around the village these days,” his tone showed concern, it was fine on his mind, considering how important his boy is for the future of the tribe “That’s not good for him, he isn’t too old yet, you could get him apprenticed, make sure he learns a skill or has a trade.”

He could see the chief meant well with his advice, so he swallowed the first words that came to his mind and instead told him “It’s alright Stoick, being a warrior is his trade.” Snotlout will be fine as a warrior until Stoick retires.

“You sure about that?” the chief asked again, unknowingly fanning the flames of his anger “He wasn’t even on the final test of Dragon Training this year…” it took considerable effort not to sneer at his chief after hearing that, sure, it was not as if Gobber didn’t favored his apprentice over his son during the training, Stoick can keep fooling himself all he wants, an event so obviously arranged wouldn’t fool him, does he think he didn’t caught that it was his son and future wife on the finals? Sure it was a brilliant move to keep the Haddock name in high regard, but nothing else “And from what I’ve heard, your boy wasn’t that impressive, do him a favor and see that he learns a trade.”

“I’ll think of it” he said calmly, but inside he was seething, his son needs no damn trade, he will be leading this tribe and the sooner Stoick opens his eyes to the reality of just how unsuited his own heir is the better for everyone “But I’m sure he will do fine as a warrior.”

“I hope so.” the chief smiled softly “For my part, I’m happy my son stopped making those dragon-slaying contraptions of his now that he can kill them with his own hands, no more screw ups!” Stoick boomed and those that where close enough to hear laughed with him.

But to Spitelout it was like as if the chief just dropped a bucket of ice cold water on him. ‘No more screw ups?!’

**A/N: Only one chapter this week but, hey… winter is here! And I swear I’m done poking the Jorgenson.**

**Next week we will be seeing the first signs of trouble :)**

**Pleas R &R.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don’t own the HTTYD franchise, also, be warned of mentions of rape on this chapter, nothing explicit though.**

Hiccup opened his eyes slowly, it was morning already, and it felt as if he closed his eyes about an hour ago and he wasn’t really feeling rested at all, he tried to sleep at the same time as usual but it hadn’t come easily.

Yesterday all the tribe was in high spirits, having worked hard all day to ensure they will have enough food for the winter, and according to Gobber, they did have enough fish, vegetables, meat, grains and flour to last them through all the winter, even if barely. So what happens if they lose any more food? They would have to ration it! and they have less ways to get it during winter.

Their fishing ships were all on land where the ice won’t be able to damage them, their houses were winterized and they have enough wood to keep themselves warm even in the worst of the winter storms.

The farmers will be now working at their homes making little things like last minutes home repairs, but mostly they will be carving spoons, cups or making new stools or chairs, the women will probably be spinning with their distaffs, carding, weaving, sewing and making clothes… Astrid broke her distaff yesterday morning after his dad took him with him to the harbor, and he is supposed to make her a new one again sometime this week.

They don’t really need her to spin any yarn to be perfectly honest, but his dad found her battle with the spinning tool to be amusing so he won’t be hiring anyone to do that for her, his dad has already pointed out that she doesn’t have to wash their clothes because the wash-women need their pay, but he thought she would prefer to have someone spinning for her rather than washing their stuff.

If it was up to him Astrid would spend her days just like she did before their marriage, but his father and, surprisingly, Astrid herself had insisted that she needed to do the household work, even if it was just so she could pass the skills to future daughters… he and Astrid blushed every time someone mentioned children to them, but his father smiled or laughed.

Astrid has told him a couple of times that she still has enough time to train, and she is, of course making sure he trains with her.

That was an interesting experience.

He was the first to admit that he wasn’t a born warrior like Astrid, proof of that was the fact that he was a leftie, he does everything with his left hand, writing working in the forge, every little thing he does, it’s always with his left hand, but fighting… fighting is different, using your left hand was a stigma and he didn’t needed any kind of negative attention drawn on him, not when he feels like his fellow Hooligans are finally warming up to him.

Astrid and him practiced always in Toothless’ cove where no one could see them, he was clumsy and awkward but according to his wife the more he tried the better his movements becomes, sometimes he believes that she is just saying it so he wouldn’t give up on their training, but he was starting to feel a little bit less uncomfortable with the motions of his right hand, at least with the vertical slash, a movement that he must have practiced over a thousand times while training this past week.

His wife let him practice with his left hand too, at least, so he could know how a proper slash should feel like and also because… because this is Berk, losing a limb isn’t uncommon, so it can’t be a bad thing if he gets used to using both hands for fighting, although that was a risk he doesn’t like thinking about.

But he is reminded of that every time he walks into the smithy and sees his mentor with only two flesh and blood limbs, and Gobber was lucky, he lost his non-dominant hand, if he loses… he doesn’t like to think about it.

Speaking of Gobber, his boss and him will be tending to the villages various tools today, and hopefully most of the winter.

The village’s weapons are usually such a high priority that other metal tools like plows, shovels and pickaxes and the likes are often neglected so their owners take great care of them, while their use won’t be determining the result of an immediate life or dead situation they are also important, and he liked working more on them than in normal weapons.

He didn’t had as many chances to practice with tools as he had with weapons, to the extent that he could easily make or fix any weapon, alone, but when someone needed to repair their plights or a new handsaw he would become Gobber’s spare hands again like when he was ten years old. He enjoyed the challenge of tool making nonetheless, and he knew he improved enough this last year to take care of them alone.

He would have to, because Toothless new tail will require a lot of precision work.

Hiccup was about to stand from bed when he noted an unfamiliar weight on his chest, he smiled. He would have never imagined Astrid as someone that cuddled in her sleep, as it happened the yesterday, she awakened when he tried to get out of bed and she went back to her pillow after noticing where her head was “Good morning” she said almost out of reflex.

“Good morning” he replied, noticing the sudden loss of warm on his chest.

Astrid beat him out of bed and grabbing a fur from their closet to keep herself warm and told him “I’ll go prepare breakfast.”

“You don’t need to” he told her, for years it was only his dad and him in the house and he was perfectly capable of making something edible in the morning, she doesn’t need to hurry out of bed like that every day.

“Yes, I do,” she said in a serious way, but managing to exaggerate a bit, as if she was speaking to a small child “I’m the only woman in the household, Hel! I’m the only woman in the clan!” she waited a moment, as if she was letting her words sink in, but when she noticed that it made no difference to him she continued “That is my job Hiccup, keeping the hut in order, making meals and stuff, just like you work with Gobber, I do my job here, I earn my keep!” and he comprehended what she was trying to say.

But still, he hummed and said “Got it,” he watched Astrid’s face turn into an acceptance expression “but…” and then to exasperation “I’d still like to help sometimes, I used to cook before we married, you know? It wasn’t anything like what you can do, but it was edible.” It was true, and he thought he was a pretty decent cook even when no one had taught him how to cook.

“Hiccup, if I don’t do it I would be shaming the clan Hofferson.” she sounded almost desperate this time.

“Astrid, no one outside the hut would know about it!” he explained, he knew honor was something she really cared about but this was taking things too far in his opinion “Look, what if I help you with the breakfast and you come with me to the forge and help me there in exchange?” he proposed trying to find the middle ground, and she looked intrigued.

“I don’t think I’ll be that useful in the smithy,” she smiled though “besides, I have thing to do here” she said with an air of finality.

“Your spinner is broken” he countered with a smile of his own, she was doing a good job and her chores were always done on time or earlier, Astrid was a perfectionist and fiercely competitive in nearly every aspect of her life, her chores included, but this was a bit different in his opinion. She has just moved in and joined a new clan… if his father and him still count as a clan that is, because putting all the prestige and the glory aside, the Haddocks haven’t been a clan in a long, long time, they were a family and not even a complete family at that. It must be hard for her to adapt to a lonely hut when she comes from a real clan with many families and people in general, and the Gods know how lonely this place can be. Astrid gave him a look of disbelief and her jaw fell open “but everything else looks fine to me” he finished his argument with a smile.

“Who will prepare lunch and dinner if I go?” she asked smiling triumphal, but it vanished quickly, he knew she must want to go with him, if only to get out of the hut, because she must be feeling really lonely.

“Right…” he said acknowledging her point “How about I help you with breakfast…” she looked like she was going to protest so he lifted his hand to ask her to let him finish talking first, she nodded in return “Then you prepare lunch and join me in the blacksmith, we work there until noon, eat lunch and then go to see Toothless and do some fishing with him as you told him?”

He could easily see she was considering it, she was moving her head from side to side, like a pendulum, as if she was weighting her options in an imaginary scale and the she asked “Would we be back in time to prepare dinner?”

“If we get started now, I think we will.”

She smiled enthusiastically “Let’s get started then!”

0x0x0

Toothless was conserving his energy, he was laying in a rock that was somewhat warmed by the weak sun, his belly was empty, and he was sure the fish-catcher his human friend made for him will have even less fishes than the day before, he knows the fishes like to stay in the deeper waters when the cold comes.

He was starting to wonder how long he would be able to survive. He wasn’t able to fly alone, he needed his little human friend’s help to visit the skies, and the previous day he didn’t come to him, like he did all the days before, instead, the female human he was mating with came in his place to open the fish-catchers and feed him, but there wasn’t enough for him, there never was, maybe with a couple extra fish-catchers full of fish he would have enough, it wasn’t a problem before because his human, him and sometimes the female human would fly and get him more fish.

But the day before when he was about to be done eating he noticed that without his human, there would be no flying, he tried asking the female to climb and fly but she didn’t, she probably couldn’t considering all the work it took her mate to learn, so she made noises and the way her whole body moved seemed to offer apologies and she used the human noise for his human friend, and he hoped it meant he would come soon, but the sun landed and took off again and was now past the highest spot in the sky and his friend still hasn’t come.

If his friend doesn’t come back he would die as any other downed dragon, being honest with himself, without his friend’s mercy and help, he would have been dead a couple of moons ago.

Toothless heard human noises approaching and soon he recognizes the as his humans ‘He’s back!’

As the noises grow louder he knows they are getting closer and he goes to the section of the come he knows they’ll use to enter and he sees the auburn fur of his friend, he forms with his mouth the human expression for happiness.

“Toothless!” his friend greets him and before they know it, they are wrestling playfully with each other.

Another human noise gets his attention and it’s the female, she is making lively noises and her mouth is in the happy shape, he goes to her and she reluctantly greets him gently scratching the side of his head.

Not for the first time he can smell their scents mixed in both of them, he is happy his friend found a mate in the violent female, even though Toothless may never understand the human courtship rituals he has accepted that they include the female beating the male with weapons, at least now she lets his friends stand up before continuing the courting. He sometimes wants to beat himself when he remembers the first time they did that, no wonder his friend was so anxious back then, he was obviously rutting for her and he interrupted them! Luckily he didn’t ruined his friend’s chances back then.

His friend joins in the rubbing and scratching that he enjoys but his paws are focusing on his jaw instead and it feels so nice, his own paws would never be able to reach there. Oh! His friend _that_ spot and his strength leaves him and he falls in relaxed bliss, and he is only vaguely aware of his human friends happy noises, in that state he finds it hard to care for the rest of the world, sure he was vulnerable, but he trust his friend, and the feeling it’s like nothing else in the world.

Once the bliss is gone he realizes that his friends have already emptied the fish-catchers and he has some fishes in front of him, not nearly enough to satisfy his hunger, but it was a start.

After making the fish disappear he notices his friends are courting again, he waits on the side patiently, the courtship rituals usually are a fast affair… and soon enough his friend is yielding to the female, he makes use of his chance and jumps between them and motions them to climb on his back, it’s time to go fishing!

0x0x0

Mildew wasn’t the most well liked person on Berk and he knew it, he just didn’t care, he hasn’t cared for many years. Ever since he was shamed by Stoick’s grandfather just for following tradition, and the glory he should have been given was turned into reproachful glares from the tribe and not long after even from his own family.

They all followed the insane chief’s lead and scorned him and when the stares became unbearable he was forced to live on the far side of the island, working a barely fertile patch of land growing cabbages. Him, who should have lived a life of glory and honor lived, instead, as a hermit. Only going back to trade his small harvest or to fight dragons, and he was one of the best fighters ever!

He would have challenged the insane chief but he knew he wouldn’t be given a fair fight, for starters he would had to fight the Heir, not the chief who was certainly old enough to abdicate to his son back then, not only that. He never believed he would have the chance to get to the fight well rested or uninjured, he knew the supporters of the Haddock clan would have ambushed him on the first chance they’ve had, and even as skilled as he was in his youth, a challenge to the chieftain was never a viable option.

Instead he choose to wait living away from the glares, he even married twice paying the bride price with dragon carcasses to his reluctant in-laws both times.

His first wife died in childbirth delivering a small and pathetic baby _girl,_ a _hiccup_ that he promptly delivered to Njord, as tradition demanded.

His second wife… she hated him but it wasn’t his problem, he paid her bride price and he got it back in full, even if she resisted him every time, she even threatened him with divorce, he responded by locking her inside his hut, and when his in-laws came looking for her he hid her.

He lived happily like that for a few months and even noticed his wife’s belly growing large with a child, then one night the mad woman escaped only to fall off a cliff trying to reach the village and she took his Heir with her to Helheim.

He tried marrying a third time for the next couple of years but no one wanted to marry their daughters to him anymore, no matter how much he was willing to pay, so he gave up on marriage and leaving a son as his legacy and the only evidence that existed that he was one married were two shields depicting feminine figures hanging from the walls in his hut.

He still survived though, and slowly the angry, accusing glares of the tribe lessened as he kept outliving those whom glared at him and he found that the younger ones didn’t even knew why the old folk disliked him, the just assumed it was because his unpleasant behavior.

His patience was well rewarded in more ways than one, it always brought a smile to his face to look at the once mighty Haddock clan and see it reduced to a small family, he almost laughed when Stoick’s first born was born a hiccup, but the fool refused to follow tradition and let the babe live, and he was sure that the death of the chief’s wife was a punishment from Njord himself.

And now, after waiting almost six decades he was in a position to re-claim his honor and gain influence, and not even Stoick can stop him this time.

It had taken a lot out of him but as soon as he heard of Fishfur’s death he started organizing a Thing behind the chief’s back, it was originally meant to officially recognize his new position within the tribe, but now it’ll be to force his way into the council, and once he was the elder he will start on the road to het his vengeance on the Haddock clan and he will make sure Berk will have a proper chief instead of a hiccup that shouldn’t even be alive!

0x0x0

Astrid was walking through the forest slightly ahead of Hiccup, as if trying to run from his latest idea “I mean it!” her husband insisted and even though it sounded like a good idea at first, it wouldn’t work.

She let Hiccup catch up to her before replying “Alright, let’s say that we manage to get the salt, the baskets and even that we manage to get ‘Toothless’ not to eat all the fish as soon as he catches them,” she kept walking while trying to make him understand why it wouldn’t work “but where are you going to dry it? Or where are you going to keep it?” yes, they needed some way to store food for ‘Toothless’, because during the winter’s storms they won’t be able to get out of Stoick’s house, much less walk all the way to the cove, but his idea of salting or smoking the fish they catch while flying was just impractical.

Hiccup seemed like he was considering giving up on this particular method going with the pros and cons in his head until he sighed finally coming to a conclusion “Alright, you win!” he said with some regret on his voice “I could build something to store the food though, just not in time because we need to be sneaky about it” that was true, but still impractical.

“Aren’t you working on a contraption that will make it fly on its own again?” she asked looking at him, that would be the ideal solution, if the dragon could feed itself again it would solve this problem but that came with its own set of troubles… because that would be basically the same as setting it free, and what if ‘Toothless’ starts raiding again? She shivers just thinking about it, and Hiccup noticed “Is there something wrong?” he asked.

“What if ‘Toothless’ goes back to raid us when he can fly on its own again?” that would be a nightmare, the most feared dragon back in action and the only one who can shut it down would be unwilling to do so again!

Hiccup glared at her as if she just said was a personal insult “That won’t happen!” he said sure of it as if there was no chance of it happening.

But it was possible!

“Hiccup, you don’t know that for sure, we are only hoping it won’t happen!” and she happily included herself on that wish because flying was wonderful! But the risk was too great to ignore.

Hiccup stopped walking and glared at her “You just don’t know him like I do!” he stopped and swallowed spit very loudly “And even if he did…” he stopped talking again but this time it was different as if what he was about to say was painful to him, but she needed to hear this, does he have a plan in case his pet went rogue?

“What is it Hiccup?!” she asked hoping he had some way to keep the dragon under control.

“It’s been over two months…” he takes a breath and swallows again “Since I first made Toothless tail, and I’ve had to fix it twice…” he stops talking again, but this time to let her reach her own conclusions, or maybe… maybe he is feeling too guilty to continue, he looks like he is feeling guilty.

But she understands “Are you telling me that ‘Toothless’ will always need you to keep flying?” she sighs with relief when Hiccup nods, but he looks even more guilty and also ashamed.

She reaches for his hand and squish it trying to comfort him, he looks up and smiles, but the smile isn’t real “Don’t be too hard on yourself, we are at war and you were on opposite sides” she took a deep breath and smiled to him “Do you think you can finish the contraption tomorrow?” she asked trying to distract him.

He smiled for real this time “Maybe, but if you help in the shop again then I’m sure I will.”

She snorted, she ‘helping Gobber consisted of her handing the old blacksmith any tool he might need, sometimes having to ask how that tool looked like, her usefulness to Gobber was limited but it freed Hiccup to work on the unnamed contraption for his dragon, and it had the additional benefit to let her get out of Stoick’s hut for a few hours, her new responsibilities demand her to stay indoors way longer than she is used to… maybe she could convince Hiccup to let her help him, or Gobber, on their job a couple of times a week from now on? “Sure, I’d be happy to.” A thought for another time.

From there Hiccup seemed to have forgotten about the guilt and they walked talking about the various uses of the blacksmith hammers and why they had so many until they reached the village, the sun still up meaning they have plenty of time before they have to go back, so she makes sure they don’t walk as fast and take the long route around and go through the market, where the villagers offer their self-made wares like combs, tools for farming, nets for fishing, cords of wood and practically everybody has some item made of dragon bone, they are mostly used for jewelry because the larger bones are saved to trade with Johann and some of the other merchants that occasionally reach their island.

In one corner she can see her aunt Thora negotiating some of her linen weaved fabrics against Sheepclaws Thorston hare furs, the market it’s almost empty at this time of day, except for the few Vikings that are just passing by not really planning on buying anything, like them, and those whom are stuck bartering their goods, that was likely her aunts case.

“Lad, lass!” her aunt noticed them and waved her hand at them greeting them, they greeted her back in the same fashion with waving hands, and then they greeted Sheepclaws whom also was greeting them now.

Astrid wanted to keep walking, she liked her aunt, but after a month of having her breathing on her neck as her chaperon she feels like she could use a couple more weeks away from her.

“A Thing has been called at sunset, everybody to the Great Hall!” they heard Tonguelout the tribe’s crier was yelling over and over making sure everyone knew of the Thing while running towards the outside of the village.

She and Hiccup gave a couple more steps before both Thora and Sheepclaws joined them much to her dismay, her aunt now holding some furs and Sheepclaws with the fabrics, her aunt was smiling, Sheepclaws… wasn’t.

“What is the Thing about?” her aunt asked them but without specifying to who she was talking to, she looks at Hiccup also with curious eyes, she doesn’t know either.

“I don’t know, we just came back from the forest.” Hiccup replies, it was good to know it wasn’t only her out of the loop in the chief’s hut, but he looked just as surprised as everybody.

Both older women hummed and exchanged looks as if they were debating what to ask next, she really hopes they won’t ask what they were doing in the forest… but she is sure that if her aunt doesn’t ask now she will ask later, her family was very curious about her bed activities for some reason!

Sheepclaws sighed in resignation, said her goodbyes and headed to her home to get ready for the Thing while her aunt kept walking with them and sternly said “I’ll see you two at the Great Hall then” and then enthusiastically added “I’ve been dying to see your jewels!” jewels that she never uses, she knows she should, for the Thing at least, she is supposed to show off her new clan’s wealth, she just nods at that, but she is more interested in something else.

“We can go!?” she asked, it was a surprise to her, they weren’t sixteen yet so they have never gone to a thing before!

Only adults were allowed in the assembly, does that mean she is an adult?

“Of course!” Thora said smiling “Hiccup here is the Champion of Dragon Training and a dragon-slayer” her aunt’s enthusiasm made Hiccup flinch at her comment “and you…” she was playfully poked on her shoulder “are his wife! Both of you are adults to the village’s eyes so you have the right to go and vote, I’ll see you there!” once their goodbyes were exchanged she turned to her husband and they exchanged smiles, although Hiccup’s was a bit forced this would be their first Thing and it was kind of exciting!

0x0x0

Holding his staff and sitting at his usual spot in the front row in the room the tribe uses for the Things right in front of the “U” shaped table where Stoick’s and the Clan Heads’ sits, he could see the tapestry depicting various drawings of Vikings fighting dragons on the walls behind the table and the golden statue he knew had an iron core Mildew was still aware that the room was slowly filling just by the steady chattering which increased every time someone entered, the stench also increased and it was getting noticeable, but this close to wash day it was only natural so he pretended not to notice and kept ignoring everyone glares the same way everyone pretended to ignore him, especially the ones coming from Stoick and a Olaf.

He was more than used to the glares by now, Hel! He even welcomes them when they come from the chief and his followers.

This Thing was already happening so even if Olaf Hofferson and Oldnut Thorston didn’t like him they’d still see his point and had to approve of it.

They may not like him but they still know he is in the right, they might still not support him because Stoick’s machinations could gain their clans the Council’s Elder position and the influence that comes with it, but he knows he can count with Elbowlout Jorgenson and Sheepfang Ingerman to do the right thing and stick with what tradition demanded! At least this time…

As the crowd inside the room grew the villagers had no option but to get closer to him and he could hear them talking, he smiled, they were all here to see him become the Council’s Elder.

They would give him their support because traditions pleased the Gods and this miserable village needs as much of the Gods Favor as it could hoard, the village needed it like air to breath to survive the winter and the raiding dragons.

“I’m sure you are all wondering why we are having a Thing right now” Stoick’s voice suddenly puts an end to the Hooligans chattering “the harvest has been safety stored and the fish is drying or smoking nicely and we are as ready as we can be for the last raid before Yule, and miraculously you have been behaving yourselves!” the crowd laughed at Stoick’s joke much to his chagrin.

“Aye and with Astrid keeping your son busy nothing has been set on fire!” someone from the Thorston section added making the tribe laugh harder.

Following the villager’s stares he found the hiccup on the Hofferson section looking embarrassed while the blonde lass he was holding hands with looked mortified, the fine clothes and jewels won’t hide the fact that she married a poor excuse of a Viking for long. Such a fine lass wasted on the hiccup’s bed.

The chief waited patiently until the laughs stopped, he was looking rather happy, then he continued with his speech his face turning serious again “Aye, but we all know of the death of Fishfur Ingerman and as you might have noticed, we have no Elder in the Council” there were voices agreeing while some hummed in comprehension.

“That’s this Thing for?” was asked multiple times with only few variations after Stoick said his piece.

“And we are here to choose his replacem…” he didn’t let Stoick finish the word.

“There is no choose to make!” he yelled defiantly, he could feel the eyes of the tribe glare at him, good, he has their attention now “The Elder _is_ the oldest person in the tribe!” he turned around to face the crowd “And that person is Me!” he put a hand on his chest “And our ‘estimated’” he put as much sarcasm in the word as he could “chief is planning to break tradition _again_ and give the position to someone else!” then he faced Stoick again.

The whispers started immediately, some agreeing with him but most of them were just angrily asking what he was doing here or just scoffing at the idea of Stoick breaking tradition. Oh how easily people forget! Even when they have the living proof among them “The same way he refused to give his hiccup to Njord when it was born small and weak!” the assembly grew quiet, Stoick’s face looked like it could burst on fire any second, his mouth open but he was too stunned to speak, turning his head looking for the lad Mildew found him staring at the floor in shame, good, if he was lucky the lad would finally see reason and run off a cliff and stop being a burden to the tribe “And…!” he tried to keep pointing how much of a mistake it was to let the lad live back then but he was interrupted by Stoick after finally finding his voice.

“ENOUGH!” the chiefs voice filled the room like thunder “It was my decision to make,” he continued in a less threatening manner, but his voice was still imposing enough to that it made him hesitate to interrupt, perhaps it would be wise to save the rest for when he was officially the Council’s Elder? “and I stand by it, My Son is now a Viking and that’s the end of it!” Mildew smirked ‘For now’ he thought.

“Nevertheless, this is a tradition that you won’t break, _I am_ the _oldest_ Viking in Berk, and as it is our tradition _I am the Council’s Elder_ , all we are here for is to make it official!” he slammed the butt of his staff on the floor with authority.

“It’s true that according to tradition Mildew would be the Council’s Elder” Stoick admitted and Mildew smiled triumphal “but I have to question the wisdom of allowing a hermit have a voice in tribe’s matter he has not participated in for decades!” Stoick looked around the room sternly making sure everyone understands why he would deny him why he would deny him what is rightfully his!

“You talk about wisdom?” Mildew asked rhetorically “Wisdom comes with age!” he screamed, but he wasn’t done yet “And you are also questioning the wisdom of the ancestors who created the traditions!” He smashed the butt of his staff on the floor and turned around to face at the crowd again “Ancestors like Borg ‘The Bold’?!” he asked lifting an eyebrow and watched with satisfaction as the Hooligans were now clearly questioning Stoick, and he knew it was the moment to strike “Those who think we should follow the traditions our Ancestors left us say: Aye!” he screamed and when the stupid villagers did not immediately agreed with him he added “And those who side with someone who thinks he knows better than the man who wrote the Book of Dragons say: nay!” those idiots still hesitated and he found himself getting worried when from the Council’s table he heard Ayes! From Elbowlout, Sheepfang and Oldnut, the villagers soon followed like a herd to their shepherd.

The only Nays! Came from the Hoffersons and a few small families that were all indebted to Stoick in some way or another, but the hardly mattered.

He smiled as Stoick scowled.

“As the Thing has decided” Stoick said as if he had ashes in his mouth, and in Mildew’s opinion, it was as it should always be, let him taste a fraction of the torment his clan has inflicted upon him “I welcome Mildew to the Council as its Elder”

As Mildew walked to the chair recently vacated by Fishfur no one celebrated, but he still smiled, now he could finally find a way to make the Haddocks Pay!

And he would be starting today.

“As Elder I think I must bring a relevant matter to this Thing’s Attention!” he said as loudly and grandiosely as he could “it is important that we name a _Proper_ Heir to the Tribe!”

**A/N: I finished this chapter on Thursday, but it was only in paper(literal paper!) and I was feeling lazy so it took a while to type, on the other hand I feel satisfied with this chapter, it being the longest I’ve for this story so far with 5.8k words without Author Notes.**

**This was mostly a Mildew Centric chapter and I gave him a bit of background, his deeds will probably be explained at a later date, but I’m still debating if I should let you guys know of them or not.**

**The Council’s Elder position may not be Historically accurate but as I said in chapter one this won’t be an entirely accurate story, I just needed to Throw Mildew a bone.**

**So please tell me what do you think of him?**

**Oh and for those of you that haven’t noticed, I’m replacing the running gag about Astrid’s inability to cook with loathe for spinning, which was much more time consuming.**


	12. Chapter 12

Snotlout couldn’t hide his smile, he didn’t thought he should hide it to begin with!

Not when it was finally happening!

He never liked Mildew, he always looked like a mean old man that was rude to everyone, he would have never guessed he was also wise enough to bring this important matter to the Thing.

Who would’ve thought that his first Thing would also be the one where he was officially made the Heir?

The people around him were happily whispering, someone patted his shoulder and he felt another hand pat his back just as his uncle Kneelout commented “Finally!” to his father, aunt Fishears said “Took long enough!” and uncle Wristlout asked “Can you imagine that hiccup as Chief?” the tribe was happy this was happening! Uncle Stoick will have to name him Heir now!

“The tribe has a proper Heir!” Uncle Stoick said loud enough to be heard by everyone in the room. He knew it, Uncle Stoick always considered him his Heir but he was too kind to disown Hiccup and now that the talking fishbone is married his duty as father was now complete and he will make it clear he was his Heir all along!

“My son has proved himself to be a proper Viking three times this year, and…” Snotlout couldn’t believe what he was hearing, is his Uncle completely blind or just unwilling to open his eyes and _see?_ He cannot really believe in what he was saying!

“The tribe won’t follow something that should have been set to the seas when it was born!” Mildew interrupted his Uncle, it was a bit harsh but it was the truth! The old man was brave!

He could see his Uncle was furious, and then he looked around the room until he found his useless cousin, he looked like he wanted some dragon to come and eat him, Astrid at his side looked absolutely furious, Snotlout could bet anything that she now regrets not letting him bed her to escape that marriage, and by the Gods she looked pretty right now, with a white fur around her neck and the few jewels like the gold pendant that hanged at her chest height, or the bracelet on her writs. He could have given that to her once he inherited the chiefdom as well and she wouldn’t had to endure his cousin, but no! She was too ambitious and shortsighted and now she will have to suffer been his cousin’s wife until she can find a reason to divorce him.

He knows she will come to him after that for the things she wanted, he will accept her, but he won’t marry her, of course he won’t, he hasn’t forgotten how she humiliated him when he tried to help her, and now she will never be his wife, she will have to be happy with being one of his concubines.

“You will follow him, Mildew!” Uncle Stoick voice echoed across the room, he has never seen him like this before! “Because he is my Son!” Uncle slammed his hand on the table, and that too, could be heard all across the room “The chiefdom is his Birthright, and he is becoming a great dragon-slayer, isn’t that right Hoark?”

From somewhere in the room he heard his Uncle Lieutenant yelling “Hiccup is the Best rookie I’ve seen in all my years fighting dragons!”

He must be lying! It is Useless they are talking about here, everyone should know he is lying! And in the improbable case he isn’t, that would be because he has never seen _him_ fight! He has even killed a Deadly Nadder! With only a bit of his clan’s help.

“Isn’t Hiccup a good Blacksmith Gobber?” Uncle asked again just as loud as the first time.

“Aye Stoick, he is!” the amputee smithy said with no small amount of pride in his voice, he was sure everyone could sense it.

“Isn’t Hiccup a Viking now, Astrid?” His Uncle asked Again, not as loud this time, Snotlout looked at her she was blushing heavily, her face could pass for a radish right now, but she still answered loud and clear “He is Stoick!” His mouth opened wide when she said that!

The tribe laughed and only his Uncle’s voice made it stop “My Son is my Heir, and if anyone disagrees with me…” His paused he moved his eyes across the crowd and when their eyes met Snotlout understood that his Uncle was trying to do the same with every member of the tribe “They are free to challenge me!”

After his Uncle said this the mood definitely shifted, he could feel it around him everyone was angry but it seemed no one would dare to challenge Stoick The Vast.

“And when he is the Chief?” Mildew asked sardonically “Will you keep fighting his battles?” Was Mildew always this awesome?!

“When he is the chief he will answer his challenges of course,” his Uncle replied without hesitation and then grinned “Hiccup just needs time to grow into the Chief I know he can become! And let me remind you…” he looked directly at Mildew “That challenges for the chiefdom must be approved by the council…” he didn’t liked the smile on his Uncle’s face right now “All the council! As it is Tradition _and_ Law!” That can’t possibly be true!

“Of course, the chief would have to shame himself really bad for that to be allowed,” the Ingerman clan head added from his seat in the front “the same goes for the Heir though.” Hearing that put a smile on Snotlout’s face again he will just have to wait to challenge Hiccup. And he probably wouldn’t have to wait that long either, because, how long can Hiccup go without screwing up and shaming himself?

“That’s the only way” Uncle agreed, and Snotlout could see that his Uncle was really blind when it came to Hiccup, because he honestly believed his son wouldn’t shame himself… poor Uncle Stoick.

“I call this Thing to and end!” Snotlout was actually happy it finally ended, he didn’t knew Things could be this stressing.

The people started to get out towards the eating room of the Great Hall, many would be staying to eat from the village food stores, even if they will have to wait for the food to be prepared by the staff. He could see Mildew going out of the Great Hall and he felt the urge to go and talk to him, maybe get some advices… he seemed so wise.

He followed him and caught up fast “Mildew!” he called getting the attention of the Council’s Elder, but when they were face to face he noticed that the old man was not happy to see him.

“What do you want, _Lad_?” the elder asked with a sneer, especially on the last word.

Snotlout didn’t said anything at first, he was surprised by how rude the wise old man was, but that was most certainly because he didn’t recognize him yet, it was kind of dark and old people don’t see well, yes, that must be it! “My name is Snotlout Jorgenson” he introduced himself first, so the elder knows who he is speaking to, to him! The future chief. The change was immediate, now Mildew was smiling at smiling at him so he moved on being satisfied to have made his point “and I wanted to tell you that you are really wise, you are the first to ever tell my Uncle the things as they are!” he explained and the elder’s smile widened, and for some reason that unsettled him and made him feel uncomfortable… it was silly so he ignored it.

“It had to be said” Mildew said as he tapped his shoulder “but Stoick is too stubborn to accept it” the elder looked away from him, there was regret on his voice, having his cousin as chief even for a few days would be such a disgrace!

“But we just have to wait!” he tried to comfort the old man, old people were supposed to be patient, right? “It won’t be long before Hiccup shames himself!” he said trying to sound calm but he was feeling excited and more than a bit giddy because when that finally happens he would be able to assume his rightful place as the Hooligan’s tribe Chieftain, that is what the Norns have in store for them, his dad says so!

“But what if we wait too long and that hiccup does something that can’t be fixed?” the elder asked wisely “Think about that, Lad.”

“I’m not a lad anymore, I slayed a Deadly Nadder!” Snotlout was irritated, he was a Viking now but everyone still treated him like a child “I’m a Viking now!” he said having enough of being treated as a kid, but then Mildew’s words sank in, and they were true, what if Hiccup did something so bad like giving all their food to the dragons and let them burn the village? “AHHH!” he screamed in frustration “We can’t let that happen!” but he had no idea how to avoid it…

But Mildew was here “What can we do?!” he needed to know!

The elder pondered about it for a moment, Snotlout dared not to interrupt him.

“We could speed up the process, I’m sure hiccup will make mistakes with the tribe’s weapons, so if someone” Mildew put a hand on his shoulder “goes to the armory, dulls a blade or an axe, breaks a spear and puts it back together with some tongs of leather everyone will _know_ it was the blacksmith’s apprentice fault” that would be a start… but the villagers could get hurt!

“What if someone gets hurt?” he asked, there had to be another way!

“Better one person than the whole tribe” that sounded reasonable, but still… “It’s the job of a chief to make hard choices” the elder turned around and walked away. He had given him a lot to think about, but he had time.

Tomorrow after training he would be free all day long.

0x0x0

They didn’t stayed in the Great Hall after the Thing was over, so she had to hurry and make something for dinner, she now had salted cod from their cellar, some radishes, turnips and onions to make a fish stew and some venison to roast on the fire.

At least Hiccup or Stoick already started the fire and put a water-filled pot on it.

They all have been silent, and the atmosphere feels so think she could almost take her nightmare fang knife and cut it, but after what was said back there its only natural.

Hiccup and her had been holding hands, something she had taken to do to show the village that they got along well enough on their marriage, and they had been standing with her former clan to show her aunts and cousins some of her jewels, something that made her feel uncomfortable by the way! When it started and when that despicable old man had basically told to the whole tribe that Hiccup should have been drowned at birth.

Her husband’s grip on her hand had vanished and his head lowered while his eyes where fixed on the floor, that was possibly the worst thing anyone could tell Hiccup and he said it with full intend to hurt him! Not to mention it also weakened Stoick position enough for him to grab the Elder’s spot in the council!

And that wasn’t even the worst of it either, Mildew wanted to remove Hiccup from his position as the Heir! Luckily for them Stoick had backed them up.

“Astrid, lass, sorry for…” her father-in-law started speaking, his right hand rubbing his neck in discomfort “Asking…” she knew what Stoick was talking about, she never expected to be put in that position, it was the most mortifying thing that has happened to her! “You know.”

“It’s alright,” she said, everyone on the tribe knew anyway “but please don’t do that again!” vouching for Hiccup’s manliness in the Thing was simply embarrassing.

Stoick nodded and looked at Hiccup “Don’t worry Son, and don’t pay attention to Mildew’s rambling , he is just a resentful old man” he spoke with calm determination “I’ve always known I did the right thing, your place is not with Njord, but here with us.”

At least that was reassuring and it made Hiccup smile faintly, it lasted only a second but it was enough for her husband to recover some of his usual attitude.

Standing up from his seat Hiccup took a spare knife and helped her to cut the onions, she wanted to tell him that she could handle dinner just fine on her own… but he looked like he needed something to do so she allowed him to help without protesting this time.

The minutes passed and they remained silent, Hiccup focusing hard on cutting everything edible within his arms reach, she seasoned the venison and put it on the irons in fine slices, having changed her mind now that she had an assistant she could manage to do something more elaborate than what she had first planned.

Stoick just sat at the table looking uncomfortable, and it wasn’t the chair’s fault, she just hoped it wasn’t because he thought she needed Hiccup’s help to handle dinner… If he complained to her dad she would be so ashamed!

They remained silent while they ate as well, if she was back at her parent’s home and someone had offended her like Mildew offended Hiccup her mom would be hugging her and her father would be telling her that it wasn’t true and to be strong and she would probably would be planning the offender’s death.

But Stoick kept his thoughts to himself and so did Hiccup, no one told her what to do in a case like this and she had no idea of what to do to make things better.

After dinner Stoick retired to his room thanking her for the meal and said a polite “Good night.”

Soon after that she had to contain a yawn, she and Hiccup retired to their room right after Stoick, but her husband didn’t joined her in bed.

Hiccup instead sat at the table he uses to draw and took one of his notebooks and a piece of charcoal “You should come to bed, it was a long day.” she told him.

“I’ll go in a bit” he replied, but he was taking his time and she found that she couldn’t sleep either, the bed felt unfamiliar and extremely cold without him there to help her warm it, not to mention… yeah, it looked like tonight would be the first time they didn’t… but it’s not like she can fault him, what Mildew said was awful.

She was about to say something when she heard Hiccup whimper, was he crying…?

Vikings do not cry… except that that wasn’t true, she has seen her dad cry after Uncle Finn died, and if even Einar Hofferson cries, then anyone can cry.

She resisted the urge to turn around and watch, instead all she could see was the empty spot In their bed illuminated by the flickering light of the candle on Hiccup’s drawing table, then she heard him sob, it was barely audible, but she did, was he trying not to wake her?

It seemed logical to assume she would be asleep by now… She wasn’t, but he doesn’t know and she doesn’t know what to do!

In the bath she took before their wedding her aunt’s and married cousins gave her advices about a how to be a good wife, but no one mentioned anything about a crying husband!

So she didn’t moved or said anything, she just laid on their bed pretending to be sleeping and feeling worse for not knowing what to do or what to say…

‘He waited until he thought I was asleep, he doesn’t want me to see him cry, right?’ she thought trying to lessen the guilt she was feeling for not knowing how to help ‘I should respect his privacy’ she thought not really convinced it was the right thing to do.

That night she only slept after Hiccup finally joined her on their bed and her guilt didn’t allowed her to fall asleep until she was sure he was sleeping.

0x0x0

Toothless new tail was a success, well, mostly a success, the contraption worked as intended, with the fake fin mirroring the real one allowing his friend to keep himself in the air, but it was restricted to vertical and horizontal maneuvers only.

Toothless didn’t liked that, but it would have to do for now, until he figures how to make it independent, and how to train his friend to control it.

Astrid and him were walking back to the village using another path at her suggestion, her reasoning being that if they use the same route over and over they would become easy to track, like some of the footpaths the carpenters have created to get to their favorite parts of the forest looking for trees.

It was thanks to Astrid he managed to finish the new tail so fast, he even managed to keep up with his other orders of the day as well.

Today was the first day she wake up before him, it was kind of strange to be alone in that big bed after the last few days, and after yesterday it felt a bit unsettling, for a moment he thought she realized he was a… hiccup and had fled to her parent’s house to get divorced.

Then the smell of food hit his noose and he calmed himself, she hadn’t fled, she had just been downstairs preparing breakfast, and it had been a generous one, the three of them enjoyed it in silence before his dad had to go settle a land dispute, then she sent him off to the blacksmith and she joined him a couple of hours later.

Gobber had been delighted to have her as ‘Spare hands’ again today, and even more when she showed that she remembered what she learned yesterday, his boss even joked about having her take over his job in a couple of years.

It was after lunch that they had the chance to sneak off to see Toothless, they played, they fed him with their meager catches and then they tested the new contraption and while Toothless hadn’t liked it that much he was able to fly and fish alone, and he just hoped they would still find him there tomorrow, it would hurt to lose his friend…

Today like yesterday they were taking the long route back home as the still had plenty of sunlight left, they passed through the harbor, walked around the cliffs surrounding it and then headed home, he planned on helping Astrid with dinner since he hadn’t helped her with breakfast.

It was on their way home that they found a crowd in the side of the Great Hall and it picked their mutual interest, even from a distance it was clear that there was a small celebration going on, they shared a questioning look with each other “What do you think it’s going on over there?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied, it wasn’t surprising since they just spent much of their day together either inside the forge or in the forest with Toothless “I hope it is some betrothal announcement though.”

“Why?” that had come out of nowhere.

“Because the tribe would have something else to talk about” she said and he must have looked as confused as he felt because she cleared it out adding “Today at the shop every Viking that noticed I was there kept staring at my belly as if looking for…” she passed a hand above her flat abdomen simulating a very pregnant belly.

He felt his chin fall, he knew the tribe liked to gossip, but he thought they would stop after the wedding, well… at least he wasn’t being asked any more uncomfortable questions, but it looked like Astrid wasn’t so lucky.

“Yeah, I hope someone is getting married” he said trying to sound as agreeing as possible. Gossiping was one of the few entertaining things to do during the winter, and speculating if a married woman was with child or not was harmless enough… but it didn’t made it any more pleasant.

Once they were close enough to the partying people he could see everyone holding mugs most likely filled with ale, and the he recognized Sven Larson happily chatting with his younger cousin Gustav, well, “happily” was a strong word, imprecise word.

Sven was mostly listening to the lad while he re-filled his mug from a barrel, but he didn’t looked annoyed by the enthusiastic child.

He has heard that being included in the Fire Brigade before thaw made him brag as if we had just won Dragon Training this year.

Pitying the older Larson and also curious about what was happening  he called out to him since he was also the most familiar face he’s seen so far “Sven!”

Hearing his name being the Viking turned around and smiled at them “Hey Hiccup, Lady Astrid!” Sven said with a small reverence towards his wife, sticking to the protocol he must follow as an un-married man when speaking to a married woman, Sven was the typical Larson, black hair, round noose, more on the lean side but still considerably wider than him, the two of them had made acquaintances when he joined Hoark’s squad, Sven hand saved his ass a few times in the two raids his been on and he has alerted him of danger and assited him to kill a nadder, Hiccup had tried to make the dragon leave but instead he’d gotten his spear in the way… He still feels guilty about it.

“What’s going on!?” he asked looking at the excited people in the place, some talking, some drinking, some other children trying to get away from Gustav’s bragging, some of the more enthusiastic Vikings were even singing.

“It’s a party!” Sven said automatically, as if it was normal for people to just start a party without a reason.

“Really?” he said with no small amount of sarcasm at the minimalistic answer he got. “I would have never guessed!”

Sven just laughed heartily while holding a hand up as if he was trying to placate a wild beast “Oh, you want to know what we are celebrating?” he asked as if he just noticed, but his voice was so exaggerated he was sure he was enjoying this, perhaps that was what having a Thorston mother does to you, or maybe he had too much ale already. He nodded “You should have just asked that from the beginning!”

“Oh… for the love of…!” Astrid whom seemed just equally curious but twice as annoyed interrupted them “Just tell us!”

Sven sobered in an instant, so maybe he wasn’t as drunk as he thought, and straightening his back he said in a grand tone “Chief Stoick The Vast decided to start a new tradition today!” he stopped to look at them, enjoying himself by teasing their curiosity. He only started talking again when Astrid growled “He got the rest of your class and the dragons in the arena,” Hiccup felt the blood draining from his face, it couldn’t be what he is thinking, could it? “and let them all have their first kill!”

Only Astrid’s grip on his hand tightening prevented him from over reacting… He totally forgot about the captive dragons!

**A/N: I wanted to upload this on Friday… but I kept having problems with the wi-fi under the rock I’m hiding now…**

**R.I.P.:**

**Stormfly**

**Barf and Belch.**

**Meatlug**


	13. Chapter 13

**I don’t own the How To Train Your Dragon Franchise. Wish I don’t have to remind that myself every time, but disclaimers are a necessary evil.**

**To Guess reviewer: I knew not everyone would accept the fate of the dragons, but I do think it was necessary, this chapter will offer some insight on my and Stoick’s thoughts on the matter, BTW, if you could create an account I would love it, I prefer to answer reviews via PM to keep a more consistent word count.**

**Now on with the chapter!**

Astrid applied more force on Hiccup’s hand, he was a bit pale and she could understand why.

It would be the same if someone told her, her friends killed Loki!

Those dragons were kind of his pets, to a lesser extent than Toothless, but still, the Monstrous Nightmare was the only dragon they never interacted with and that probably helped him when he had to kill it.

Now that she knows a bit more about dragons and how Hiccup’s tricks worked she kind of understands why the dragons always seemed to seek him while they were training… the gronkle of the final probably just wanted a scratch on its jaw! The other dragons were probably the same, even if she isn’t sure about the zippleback, she _still_ has no idea how he got it back on its cage without a fight, it was the same with the terrible terror for that matter.

As strange is it might seem she understands how Hiccup got attached to the fire-breathing reptiles.

She was getting attached to Toothless herself, but she keeps in mind that the Night Fury is one of a kind and that all the other dragons that raid their village are controlled by their Queen somehow, it could be some kind of _seith_ (1) for all they know.

Yes, she understands Hiccup’s attachment, but she doesn’t shares it.

And a big part of her is pissed off!

Sure it was not the same as killing her first dragon in the arena with the whole tribe as witness by earning that honor or during a raid, but it was still an important thing for the Hooligans and she missed her chance!

Now she was the only one that _hasn’t_ killed a dragon in her age group, and it bothered her, it bothered her a lot!

She hated being second and now she was the last!

If only she had stayed at home… spinning. On second thought maybe she did the right thing after all, but she could have had the chance to kill her first dragon today, but now she knows she lost it.

Hiccup’s friend was staring at them, expecting a reaction from them, and her husband’s would most likely not be a favorable one, she could see him struggling not to show his grief, and while her anger and jealousy made her want to protest about the unfairness of the situation, she knows she has more control over her emotions than Hiccup did at the moment “How nice of Stoick!” she said trying her best to show excitement she wasn’t feeling, interlacing her fingers with her husband’s long, strong ones to remind him that he can’t show any sympathy to the reptiles if he wants to lead the tribe to one day put an end to the war, she tried to cut her own flow of negative emotions to make him react properly, like any other Viking would.

“What about the carcasses?” she inhaled at hearing the even and controlled, yet angered voice of her husband, which was perfect to hide his current emotions!

“I asked…” Sven said suddenly turning less cheerful and more secretive, he closed the distance among them, as if to keep what he was about to say was only meant for the three of them “Some were saying they should have them as prizes,” by his tone it was obvious that he wasn’t one of them “but your father was firm and said that they are still the tribe’s property, to be sold for food and stuff to Johann,” well, that was interesting and it must have annoyed the Ingermans and Thorstons quite a bit “and I’m fine with it” the other Viking was calmer this time but it was just the calm before the storm “why should the Thorston lad get a zippleback carcass when he hasn’t _earned it?_ Especially when other than Fishhorns everyone on my class is still saving for a Bride Price!”

And then, there was that, the un-married Viking was probably twenty years old and he just admitted not having enough resources to afford marriage, giving carcasses that way would upset a lot of people and lessen the honor of the Dragon Training Graduate champion status.

“You are right, that wouldn’t have been right!” Hiccup said angrily, Sven grinned in return and she couldn’t help but grin herself, she knew Hiccup wasn’t exactly mad for the reasons the other Viking assumed, and it was kind of funny. But Sven seemed to approve of her husband’s attitude… if only he knew! But they still overlapped and more importantly, it made sense!

Hiccup found a way to channel his grief in a way that looked appropriate.

“Calm down Haddock,” Sven said but it was clear as day that he approved of the younger Vikings words “I don’t mind them getting cheap kills,” Astrid herself smiled, it was comforting to her to hear that “I mean, you and I got our first kills the right way and as long as they don’t get the goods we should be ok with it! Now get some ale and relax” Sven grabbed a nearby mug, filled it and handed it to Hiccup. That made her realize that it should have been the other way around, it was normally the younger one that should serve the older one… this was a show of respect!

“What is this!?” Hiccup asked after taking a sip from the mug.

She looked at him curiously, she was alternating between glaring at Sven and glaring the mug, she extended her hand to take the mug and taste its contents… and it was awful!

“Its watered-down ale, your father doesn’t wants us drunk when there could be a raid tonight!” Sven explained but he still looked like he had played a prank on them ‘Damn half Thorston!’

“Don’t you mean aled-up water?!” Hiccup asked sarcastically, it was good, he was handling his grief in an okay manner despite the impact of the news.

“That sounds about right!” she said giving Hiccup his mug back, no way would she drink more of that beverage!

Sven shrugged and smiled “It is what we have!”

“True, but _we_ still have mead from our wedding!” Hiccup put the mug back on the table where Sven took it from and pulled her towards Stick’s hut “Good bye Sven.”

The Larson man laughed and said his own good byes.

The Great Hall was close to the house and Hiccup practically collapsed once the door was closed, his eyes bright with unshed tears “Why would Dad do that?!” he asked.

“I don’t know” she replied, it has never been done before, as far as she knew at least, and Hiccup’s friend said it was the first time as well, but it was meant to be a new tradition.

“It makes no sense!” Hiccup sat at his chair in front of their dining table, his elbows resting on it and his forehead on his hands.

No sense? That wasn’t true, her husband wasn’t thinking clearly he was probably still shocked by the news, it was a miracle that he managed to control himself back at the Great Hall, but right now he wasn’t thinking like a Viking.

“Hiccup!” she called him with a bit more intent behind her voice than strictly necessary “What would we do with the dragons during winter?” she asked and he looked at her, his eyes still fighting to keep the tears in, he didn’t knew, that much was obvious, and neither did she “What does the tribe usually do with them?” she never asked, never seemed important.

“I don’t know” Hiccup said sighing, they stayed silent for a few more seconds.

Did the tribe kept them to be used for training the next year?

No, probably not.

What to do with used up dragons during winter then?

Setting them free wasn’t an option obviously, they would most certainly go back to raid, steal their food and burn things.

And Berk doesn’t have any food to spare, like last winter when they had to ration food and her own family ate all of their reserves even while trying to make them last and they could only eat in the Great Hall only once a day, they lived like that for weeks, they had hardly left their beds sleeping the day away to conserve energy.

She could not see Stoick feeding their enemies when he could barely feed his own people.

The dragons would starve and die!

“I think they are… always killed” she said, the dragons were normally be fed with fish oval, and they didn’t fish during winter and letting them starve to death would ruin their carcasses for trade.

It made sense!

“But we would have to get new dragons for Dragon Training every year!” Hiccup said angrily, he still was still grieving and not thinking!

“Hiccup, you _will be_ Berks chief,” she told him, she wanted to add that he _will be_ the one to end the war, but judging by his expression it wasn’t the moment, because he would still be the chief after ending the war and he will have to rule and protect the tribe… that included making sure they don’t starve to death! Her husband flinched but nodded “What is better, giving food you don’t have to prisoners?” she asked but didn’t gave him the chance to respond “Or execute them so they don’t starve to death?” she left out that they could get more next year while she presented him the options she could see at the moment and hoping that keeping out the word ‘dragons’ unsaid would help him to _think_ about it.

She could practically _see_ the gears in Hiccup’s mind turning in search for an answer, probably a third option that wouldn’t end with dead prisoners, he was smarter than her, she knew that, she could have never created Toothless tail, or any of his previous contraptions, or the ones that stayed on his notebooks as draws only, so if there was a third option he would find it, but she couldn’t think of one that wouldn’t end with them shamed or exiled, and after yesterday she knows Mildew would be pleased, and more than a few would be in the same boat as the elder.

“I will find another way!” Hiccup said frustrated, unable to find an adequate answer right now.

“Hiccup!” she said gently, she knew he wouldn’t like what she was about to say “Do you remember the night we saw _It_ ” she said lowering her voice and getting closer to him, knowing where the nest was and keeping it a secret _must be_ treason! Even alone at home it didn’t felt safe to talk about it, and frankly if it was up to her they would only talk about the nest and the monster it contained only while flying on Toothless back, where she knew no other Viking could ever reach them. He nodded warily looking around for any sings of Stoick, he was as wary as her at least “I told you that you would have to kill dragons…” she could see the muscles of his jaw clench and then he was looking at the table and not at her… at least he wasn’t covering his ears with his hands so she knew he was still listening “You must understand that we cannot save the dragons, not while they follow that _thing_ in their nest. And you said that you would end the war…” she reached for his hand and held it with hers, he had asked for her help back then and she had accepted, she would be damned if she doesn’t at least help him focus on what is really important “But until then, there will be casualties.”

He Inhaled sharply and said “I just wish I could help them!” his voice was shaking.

“I know”

0x0x0

Fishlegs was not enjoying himself, at least not like Tuffnut and Ruffnut who were both singing with other Vikings, Gobber was among them judging by how bad the song sounded.

Sure he was a Viking now but he didn’t felt any different than yesterday, and tomorrow he will be with his dad in his shop again like he was yesterday… working without an actual pay.

All of his _earnings_ would be destined for the Bride Price fund as his father put it, if he ever wants to get married—not like remaining single was an option—he would have to earn it, his dad said he would cover a third of his bride price, but that meant he would have to work for at least five years just to cover the ‘poor man price’ at the rate his dad was _paying_ him.

Sure, that time would be reduced if he was a successful dragon-slayer, or if he just fights well enough, to get a share of the carcasses his eventual squad would get, he knew acknowledged _solo_ kills were rare and he won’t likely ever be credited with one, it just wasn’t him.

Despite his prodigious size he lacks the right temperament of an elite dragon-slayer like… say Snotlout who walked on Midgard as if he owned it or like Hiccup who felt the need to kill them when he sees them as he often said after getting into trouble for trying to help. They were both his age and already got what many older Vikings called _real kill_ , Snotlout skipping the ceremonial kill altogether, which wasn’t exactly a good thing… but it was still impressive. And Hiccup… Hiccup was already married, and to Astrid no less.

It wasn’t uncommon for champions to wed within two years of their first kill and his wedding was a reminding of the skinny Viking parentage and status… Hiccup is the chief’s son and all of a sudden he became a model Viking, even if his clan still believed Snotlout would be a better option to succeed Stoick they now acknowledged his skills as a blacksmith and as a fighter.

Yes he feels a bit jealous of the two but it wasn’t as if he was in a real hurry to marry, unlike the other two boys-Vikings in his cohort he was aware that he was… average, he isn’t related to the chief, his clan is respected and just that, they had no exceptional wealth, they weren’t honor bound warriors, they weren’t unpredictable or had a rich history of glory and victories. The Ingerman just wanted to live in peace and that’s it.

So when he, like Snotlout and Tuffnut started to notice Astrid was a girl, he knew that when he married it wouldn’t be to her, but to a girl younger than him like all of his cousins… Fishhorn, who had won his own Dragon training was the exception rather than the rule.

He was average in everything but size and his encyclopedic knowledge of dragons and local flora and he was fine with it.

When the chief appeared on his dad’s shop’s door today to, in his own words: Make him a Viking, he didn’t knew what to expect.

His dad closed their shop after the chief directed them to the arena where they waited in the kill ring, then some other Vikings showed up but they stayed in the spectator’s area instead, soon there was a large crowd just watching at him and his dad, he wondered if Hiccup felt as uncomfortable as he did in that moment when he was here for his first kill.

After an hour or so the chief finally showed up again accompanied by the twins and their father, of course now he knew how the chief intended to make him and the twins into Vikings. The crowd had been meant to witness their passage onto adulthood and just like Hiccup did a month before they would slay their first dragon in front of the village – most of it.

As the chief, the twin’s father and his dad had talked among themselves, he watched the twins to gauge their reactions and unlike him they were enjoying themselves basking on the attention of their fellow Hooligans, greeting them and waving their hands.

Shortly after they were told, as he guessed, that they would get to slay a dragon but they wouldn’t have any claim for the carcasses, his dad wasn’t looking pleased about it but made no protest.

Then the chief spoke to the witnesses telling them how every Viking that participates in Dragon Training is expected to help to protect their village, its people and their goods, and how it was necessary for them to be ready, so they were being allowed to take one more lesson: How to kill a dragon, the crowd roared approving of the event.

The first one to ‘fight’ was Tuffnut who was allowed to get the Zippleback, that was probably because he had won the race at Hiccup and Astrid’s wedding, and he remembered the chief being quite pleased with that performance, which was without a doubt, his reward.

Then he killed-executed the Nadder leaving a complaining Ruffnut to do the same with the Gronkle, he was secretly relieved to not having to kill that particular dragon, not only it was considered as the lesser among those three dragons but he also thought it was cute, but he would never say that out loud, he liked living in the village and showing sympathy for the beast would make that difficult.

After that the chieftain said that there would be mead and ale in the Great Hall for those who wanted to celebrate.

His dad had allowed --ordered—him to go and then left, back to work most likely, he ended up grouped with the twins who were really excited about the whole affair, Tuffnut sweared he could feel his beard growing and Ruffnut was going along with it… only to pull out the single facial hair out of her brother’s face, they were fun to be around when they weren’t trying to prank you. They had been congratulated at random intervals, by random Vikings too.

It had been nice.

Then Snotlout showed up and stayed with them telling how it was different to kill a dragon during a raid than what they had done. And Fishlegs had to admit he couldn’t picture a raiding dragon starving and weak to the point to struggle to stand up.

Then the Jorgenson put them through the old same routine, him just telling them just how a great Viking he was and how he would kill scores of dragons, solo! He was already giving himself the ‘Dragon-Bane’ epithet.

When Snotlout was drinking from his mug of really watered-down ale, he felt safe enough to add his own thoughts on the matte “I’m just happy that all of us have killed a dragon now!” it was a relief, at least for him, in his clan, his kin can get really angsty and tended to put a lot of pressure after someone finishes Dragon Training for them to slay a dragon, he wasn’t exactly sure but it was probably the same with the other clans.

“Yeah, everyone but Astrid!” surprisingly it was Snotlout who pointed that out, he had a satisfied smile on his face that Fishlegs couldn’t understand “We’re all Vikings now too,” Snotlout pointed out “I mean, I’m the only real Viking here but you are getting there!” he boasted again.

It must have touched a nerve on Ruffnut because she wasted no time to ask “What do you mean ‘Real Viking’?” Fishlegs nodded, while he wasn’t quite as vocal as the Ruffnut he hadn’t liked the comment either.

“Oh come on! You know what I mean!” Snotlout said as if it should be obvious.

“Well, I don’t get it either. Why don’t you enlighten us Snot?” Tuffnut said in the same tone as his sister.

Snotlout sighed as if he was trying to be patient with the twins and muttered something he didn’t quite understood before replying “I’m the only one here that has _really_ slayed a dragon and I have been in a Thing too!” that was true but…

“The tradition is all about killing a dragon.” he said annoyed at Snotlout, but when the Jorgenson glared at him, his annoyance turned into fear, Snotlout never really hurt him, but he was kind of their leader and he could make his life uncomfortable, he is the chieftain’s nephew and that carries a lot of weight in the island. So he added “We would still be Vikings even if someone else was holding the dragon down to let us kill it!” he was trying to sound as apologetic as possible and when Snotlout flinched and nodded he felt safe again.

“Astrid was there in the Thing last night.” Ruffnut aid sounding curious, and she was looking at him!

Oh Gods! That can’t be good.

“How do you know that?” he asked looking away, he knows she couldn’t have been there.

“Mom says she was there, showing her new jewels off to the Hoffersons.” She explained nonchantly.

He looked up at Snotlout silently asking if that was true.

“Yeah, she was there, with Hiccup!” Snotlout said with disdain, especially when he said his cousin’s name.

He must still be angry about the wedding, but it made sense.

“Maybe the tribe considers her and adult because she married Hiccup?” he half asked half explained, he wasn’t sure what the laws said in relation to that, but marriage could be considered a rite of passage own its merit “I mean she now has to take care of the Chief’s hut and all.”

Ruffnut grinned at him “Aye, and that’s a biiiig hut!”

“And mom said those were nice jewels too.” Tuffnut added, good, at least they all agreed on this.

“My mom has more!” Snotlout said petulantly.

“I don’t know…” Ruff started again “mom said that the chief’s wife had so many jewels that she had to wear only a few at a time or she would look like a Yule tree, I bet Astrid inherited all of them!” there was logic behind that, it didn’t looked like the chief planned on marrying again and Astrid was the only woman of the Haddock clan right now and that made her the only person that would wear them.

“Please, when I’m the chief she will have to hand them over so my wife can wear them.” What Snotlout said, on the other hand, made no sense at all!

“Snotlout, the chieftain can’t just take things like that from the other people” he said cautiously, he didn’t knew every law, but it was just common sense.

“It would be tribute!” the Jorgenson insisted, then they were interrupted by the twins laughs.

“Snot, dude, your dad isn’t Stoick The Vast, its Spitelout Jorgenson, Hiccup is the Heir, the next chief, the future Big Boss!” well, that was unexpected, Fishlegs thought everyone agreed that Snotlout was the best choice, well, at least that was the way with the Ingermans.

“It’s only a matter of time before Uncle Stoick realizes that I’m the best choice he has!” the Jorgenson said confident on his words, his stare focused on Tuffnut as if daring him to deny it.

“And how exactly are you a better choice than Hiccup, Dragon Training’s Champion, only _Son_ of the chief?!” while Tuffnut still maintained his defiant eye contact it was Ruffnut who questioned the stocky Viking.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Snotlout asked with a confident smile, flexing his muscles to drive his point home. Personally Fishlegs didn’t thought muscles were that important, but it was important enough to the rest of his clan to support the young man, maybe Snotlout had the right attitude too?

He wasn’t sure why his clan believed him to be the better option… but he knew better than going against his clan so he stood with his kin on this, there isn’t much of a choice to be made from him, he is an Ingerman and he must remain with them.

“No, it isn’t, Snotty,” Tuffnut re-took the word and was now openly glaring at the Jorgenson “Hiccup pretty much shoved his shoe up every ass during Dragon Training, yours included…” both twins smiled when Tuff said that “ And I’d say you weren’t even the second place!”

Fishlegs cringed while Ruffnut smirked and Snotlout was just sitting there breathing heavily and glaring daggers at the twins.

“Hiccup and Astrid only placed that high because Gobber favored them, if it had been a fair contest then I would…!” he was interrupted by Ruffnut.

“I was there, and it was a fair contest!” she was angry “Or will you claim the sun was on your eyes the whole time and you couldn’t see even that?!”

Snotlout was gaping like a fish at how direct and mocking Ruffnut was, but what was he expecting? They are the twins!

“To be fair… Hiccup and Astrid were so good it wasn’t even a contest!” Tuffnut said with a smug smile menacing to cut his face in two with how wide it was, he raised a hand which was promptly high-fived by his twin.

“Let’s go brother, we still have to feed the cats and lock them for the night!” Ruffnut said with the same smile her brother had after it had become clear Snotlout was too shocked or angry to answer to Tuffnut’s verbal stab.

Once they were gone he noticed he was alone with a very angry Snotlout and prepared to make his own hasty retreat.

“What do you say Fishface?!” the Jorgenson asked before he could leave.

Not sure what to say Fishlegs simply stated his clan’s opinion on the matter “My clan thinks you would be a good chief” he said nervously.

He felt relieved when the Jorgenson relaxed and smiled saying “I knew you were smarter than those two.”

**A/N: Had to cut the chapter in two or it would have become too long, and I felt it was a good point to stop for the week.**

**Astrid is trying to help Hiccup keep up the appearances that he is not only a good Viking but also worth of succeeding his father for the chiefdom, I know what she said was harsh, but it was mostly true in the current circumstances.**

**And I bet not many of you saw who the teens would be siding with.**

**I like Fishlegs character, he is geeky and shy, but without Meatlug(R.I.P) boosting his confidence he isn’t likely to go against his family opinion, and I had other motives for siding him with Snotlout on this.**

**I’ll just leave saying this, sides are not set in stone here.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I don’t own HTTYD or any of its related media.**

**Trigger advantage, violence and death on this chapter.**

She wasn’t sleeping when the sound of the horn alerted her and the rest of the village they were coming, neither was her husband and judging by how fast Stoick got out of the hut, he was awake and just waiting for them.

This wasn’t a tradition, this raid was more like the changing of the seasons… you know it will happen just as you know winter will come after autumn (If winter was polite enough to let autumn arrive that is).

The last dragoon raid before Yule.

Always a big affair with a few more dragons than usual and with every dragon being more aggressive on this raid, as if they were trying to make up for the next few weeks when they won’t show up, and there was always a Night Fury on this one… and with Toothless capable of flying on his own again, Astrid had to wonder if he would be there with his kind or… if a different Night Fury would show up instead.

She hadn’t told Hiccup about this because he will most likely argue on his pet’s behalf, and because she hopes no Night Fury will show this time, that would be the ideal outcome, it is what she was hoping for.

If no Night Fury shows up she will take it as a sign of Toothless trustworthiness.

As she puts on her old clothes, her studded leather skirt and shoulder guards she noticed Hiccup was already leaving with his spear in hand and his every day tunic, vest and pants… and nothing else!

How can someone come out unscratched after fighting in a dragon raid without wearing any armor think the Gods hate him?! “Hiccup!” she yelled as her husband was going down the stairs making him stop.

Hiccup turned around and looked at her to see what she wanted, but it was clear that he was in a hurry.

She looked around searching for his helmet and some other piece of armor or protection, she could only find the helmet, and does he really not own any armor? She will have to make him get some after today, but for now she only picks the helmet and throws it to him in an arch that would be easy to catch, he looked sheepish for a whole second before he jumped the remaining steps down and bolted out of the hut.

He was still angry about the captive dragons but had accepted that he couldn’t have helped them even knowing about his father plans beforehand.

Her father-in-law had been in a good mood today, he hadn’t told them why he came up with his ‘new tradition’ but he told them it was part of a plan to put Mildew in his place, and that was something she wanted to see happening as it was a good cause on her book!

Less than a minute later she goes out of the hut to help in the raid as part of the Fire Brigade, and it’s ridiculous that she is wearing more armor than Hiccup who will be engaging in combat with the dragons, she has to get him some armor, Hiccup can’t keep relying on the Gods good will forever!

The torches are already lit and there is enough light to run in full speed towards the storehouse near the well where they store their buckets and ropes, she collides with another Viking who must also be hurrying to his post and almost falls on her behind, if not for her training she would be on the ground right now.

“Evening!” the Viking, a Thorston by his looks greets her while running away.

“Evening!” she replies, this wasn’t the first time it happened and wouldn’t be the last, the Hooligans have gotten so used to collisions that they have turned them into chances to salute their tribe mates.

She continues her path more aware of her surroundings this time and avoids a couple of Vikings that were not being as careful as her, up ahead there is a teen younger than her that just collided with an adult and as a result ended with his ass on the cold grass, he was the newest addition to the Fire Brigade: Gustav Larson who greets his fellow Berkian with the traditional “Good Morning!” while he rubs his sore behind with both hands.

“Hurry up!” she tells the rooky pushing him towards their destination, the dragons were arriving and there were no fires yet but that doesn’t means they don’t have work to do!

They must fill and line up as many buckets as they could before the first fire was started.

“Evening Babe!” did she mention that the younger teen reminds her of Snotlout?

Gustav has the same confidence as Snotlout, and unfortunately the same tendency to show off every little accomplishment to try to impress her… but he had a redeeming quality that Snotlout lacked “I’m _married_ remember?!”

Gustav flinched and nodded before starting running again.

Gustav redeeming quality was his ability to get a clue, he was still as the next Hooligan but in less than a week he has toned down the flirting considerably and after only two raids he already treated her wit more respect than Snotlout ever had and by the way he flinched this time she could tell that his most recent attempt was just a reflex, and hopefully would be the first and last try now that she was a married woman.

She counted that as one of her marriage benefits.

The last couple of years were hard for her because of her body changes started to attract the attention of most if not every single, unmarried man in Berk, it was something that made her feel uncomfortable and pushed her to train even harder, she knew the older men had talked to her dad about her bride price since she was thirteen, but Einar Hofferson wanted her to show her prowess and earn his clan some honor and glory before he approved any suitor.

She knew some of those suitors wanted her as a trophy and she had being determined to become unreachable… but that only made them want her more…

After the wedding with Hiccup those coveting eyes had stopped, of course, those same eyes were now curiously staring at her belly…

It was still better, not by much though!

When they arrived at the well Fishlegs and the twins were already there, filling buckets and more focused than ever on that task, maybe it was a good idea to have made them into adults?

“Hey guys!” she greeted before grabbing her own bucket and getting to work.

“Lady Astrid!” Fishlegs greeted her back, it was so like him to use the formal greetings even though they were friends.

“Mrs. Haddock!” Tuffnut said while grinning at her, he may be more focused on his job, thinking himself an adult… but he hadn’t stopped being Tuff!

Ruffnut punched her brother’s arm, which Astrid appreciated “Hey there Astrid!” she said smiling.

It was nice to be with them and be treated somewhat normally after what felt like an eternity of people treating her differently.

“Why is no one greeting me!?” Gustav complained after noticing no one was paying him any attention, and to be honest, she had forgotten he was there!

Her friends all gave him the same unimpressed looks she had given him earlier.

“Because you aren’t filling buckets!” Ruffnut said roughly after filling another bucket and handing the younger teen an empty one for him to fill.

They worked in a comfortable silence only occasionally interrupted by Gustav’s complains about no one noticing how much he helped and how amazing he was for a few minutes before they were first called. She could see a hut with its ceiling on fire and a Monstrous Nightmare being driven away by her dad’s group., her hearth skipped a beat when she saw it breath fire on him, another Viking made it stop by thrusting his spear at its flank, the dragon dodged the worst of it but it was now injured and her dad emerged from behind his burning shield discarding it and throwing it at the dragon right before sending his axe to acquaintance with its left wing, taking full advantage from the opening his ally gave him now his dad had the dragon grounded and him and the other Vikings ganged up on it finishing it quickly.

She forced herself to breathe and focus on extinguishing the fire, her dad was fine, he managed to rise his shields and kneeled to protect himself, everything was fine, this wasn’t even the first time she’s something like that happening, not even the first time this year.

It took them a few fast trips to put the fire out, the twins and Fishlegs were really into it tonight.

Her father smiled at her as she went back to her post in the well, there Gustav was refilling buckets making himself useful.

“FIRE!”

It was a good thing because the dragons were really on to their job as well tonight and two more calls for help came one after the other with no time in between, so she too it as a blessing the rest of the Fire Brigade was so motivated otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to match the dragons.

“Guys, there are a lot of dragons tonight!” Gustav commented when the dragons gave them time to breathe.

“I think I saw six Zipplebacks and 4 Monstrous Nightmares” Fishlegs added, those were indeed the most dangerous usual raiders.

“Any Night Furies?” she couldn’t avoid asking, dreading the answer.

“Haven’t seen any…” Tuffnut said with mirth “but no one has ever seen a Night Fury!” he was the only one laughing at his own joke.

“I don’t think there is any here…” Fishlegs said seriously while casting a reproachful look at Tuffnut “I haven’t _heard_ any.”

“And no catapults have exploded yet!” Gustav added optimistically.

She smiled, Toothless was behaving himself, not only that but she couldn’t avoid thinking that what Tuffnut said wasn’t true anymore… not only had she seen a Night Fury this afternoon but she also rode on one!

“FIRE!”

So much for a breather, they all grabbed their buckets and ran towards the newest beacon of fire, it was on Hiccup’s squad area!

On her way there she couldn’t avoid thinking that Hiccup wasn’t wearing more armor than his helmet, and after watching her dad almost get cooked alive she was more than a bit nervous, there was a lot depending on his life and she couldn’t believe he was being so careless about his safety!

When they got here it looked like they were about to be overrun by the dragons.

Hoark was trying to finish a Nadder entangled in a bola while trying to keep a Zippleback away from the warehouse and their food, she wasn’t sure, but it looked like they already took care of the troublesome sparking head, an Ingerman was struggling with a pair of Gronkles, Hiccup and Sven were keeping a Monstrous Nightmare away from the food but the dragon was being extremely aggressive and generally not cooperative and unpleasant, another Viking she didn’t recognized but according to Hiccup was named Bjorn Ardvinson was fighting a Gronkle and he was the only one that looked like he had things under control.

The fire was on a carpentry shop, she would have liked to help them fight but she knew her duty right now was to put out the fire and save a tribemate property.

By the time she was making her second trip she heard a cry of pain which was very different from the usual war cries she was used to hear when everything was going smoothly and when she was finally close enough to see what had happened she saw all the same dragons she saw before and a second Monstrous Nightmare that was above Bjorn, the Viking was kicking desperately trying to keep the away, when it finally let go of the man the dragon had a limb on its mouth and just… spit it and it looked like it was about to take another bite off the fallen Viking when Sven rammed onto it with a spear… with Hiccup’s spear! She turned her head around looking for her husband and found him still facing the same Monstrous Nightmare and slowly backing away from it, he only had his shield and no weapon at all, she heard a battle cry and it was Hoark running at full speed and smashing into the, a war hammer on his hand and smashing it on the dragon’s head, making its skull cave in spraying blood into the air, a killing strike! She turned her attention to back to the injured Viking, it looked like Sven managed to make the Monstrous Nightmare take off and was now shielding Bjorn from a Gronkle, it wasn’t even the same Gronkle Bjorn was originally fighting!

How she wished she had her axe with her right now! But its weight would have slow her down when carrying the water-filled buckets and the only weapon she had was a small dagger, nothing that could be used against a dragon.

As the Ingerman Viking, Dogscales, from what Hiccup told her joined Sven double teaming the Gronkle she turned to the building on fire and emptied her cargo on it without extinguishing it completely, she knew she should be running back to make one more trip to hopefully put it out for good but she found herself looking for Hiccup.

There was no sign of him and she began to worry until she found him getting out of the warehouse with a new spear in hand, just in time to stop a Nadder from getting inside, he had to take cover behind the wall as the dragon shot its poisonous quills at him.

“Astrid!” someone shook her to get her attention, it was Ruffnut.

“We have to put out that fire!” she yelled at her and she nodded in return, as they ran back to the well she noticed that Tuffnut and Fishlegs were missing, they were probably carrying Bjorn to the Great Hall which would explain why Ruffnut and her were the only ones trying to put out the fire, they would have to get Gustav out of Bucket-Refilling-Duty for this one.

“You coming with us this time!” she yelled as soon as she could see the younger teen.

Gustav nodded and took a couple of buckets and ran to meet her handing her one of them she dropped the empty one and then turned back to the building on fire.

Once she got there she immediately saw Hiccup bashing a sword on a shield, making a group of three Gronkles dizzy while someone dropped a net on them, then someone yelled an “Out of the way!” and he jumped right before a Nadder’s quills hit the spot where he was previously standing, the dragon was probably out of fire, the Vikings were still holding but it looked like her husband’s squad was in for a long night… just then a Gronkle made it out of the warehouse with a crate filled with dried fish and flew into the night…

0x0x0

There was no light yet, but it felt like they have been at this for days when the last dragon took off and they don’t know if Bjorn was alive or not, if he was…

He could see the dark stains left on the ground where the dragon spat his leg, which was now missing, he doesn’t know if someone got it or if a Terrible Terror took it as an offering to the Queen… Gods! He didn’t want to think about that!

Someone put a hand on his shoulder and squished it “Let’s go lad, your father needs to hear our report!” Hoark said somberly “Stoick won’t like it” he called his other two squad mates, none of them needed a visit to the healer, Dogscales had a nasty burn on his right shoulder but he insisted he was fine, Sven and him only had the usual scratches and his own right hand was numb from having to block a Gronkle tail with his shield.

Walking to the Great Hall let him _appreciate_ the state of the village after this particular raid, more than a few huts had black spots on their walls and he just knows every warehouse was hit with dragon-fire tonight… were those the ashes of a house over there where a Thorston hut used to be? Gods he hoped no one was trapped inside this time!

“How many crates did we lost?” Hoark asked.

“I counted three” Hiccup said looking at the floor, if only he had… but that would have gotten that Nadder killed!

“Same here” Dogscales agreed with him, this wasn’t the first time they had lost food to the dragons, but for some reason he was feeling like it was all his fault!

Tonight he identified two opportunities to subdue a dragon and one coasted them a crate of food and the other… Bjorn leg!

He could have subdued the dragon him and Sven had been fighting when it fell for one of his partners feints and they could have been free to help Bjorn, instead that Monstrous Nightmare tackled the Viking without even pretending to go after the food!

“I think that sound right” Sven said, looking every bit as down as Dogscales, Hoark and possibly himself.

“I counted four!” Hoark said surprising him and the others, he just hopes he is wrong!

As they got to the Great Hall his father was standing at its gates and some Vikings were already talking to him, Stoick’s face was blackened from the ashes and smoke of the night but other than the expected scratches he was uninjured.

He stood at a distance as Hoark got closer to give his report, when his dad noticed the leader of his squad he looked for him and smiled, he smiled back, it was nice to see his dad cared… ‘And all I had to do was kill a dragon’ he thought, he always knew that was the only thing that his father cared about, the night he shout Toothless down that was all he had in mind.

And now that he was a _proud_ dragon slayer he wished he wasn’t right… but the evidence he had was too much to ignore. He has everything he wished for that fateful night: his dad respect, most of the tribe now appreciates him and he even has Astrid as his wife!

But he wishes he doesn’t have to kill dragons.

All of those boons were not for free, and today he felt he was reminded of that, the price was paid in lives, lives ended or ruined or both, from both…. Dragons and Vikings alike.

And he still has no idea of how to eliminate the Queen. Maybe he just needs to take another look at it? He has only seen it once and in a hurry… for obvious reasons.

Yes, he will go to see it again to look for any weakness that could be exploited.

“No one knows for sure why the dragons won’t attack us anymore after today and it doesn’t matter either!” His dad began to talk to reassure the tribe, this were the most anticipated weeks of the year and he has never felt happier for them than right now, he would finally have some time to _think_ about how to end this war!

“Relax, spend time with your families, recover and heal!” his dad prompted their warriors choosing to look at the bright side of things, but that was only to the Vikings that were standing in front of him. Because inside the Great Hall behind his dad where the wounded were being treated and Hiccup hoped there was no one else as badly hurt as Bjorn, because that would increase the likeliness of someone dying tonight. He already knew the carpenters have peg legs and arm prosthesis ready for anyone that might need them but after years of watching Gobber move around the shop he wanted to try his own design on his squad mate, Toothless seemed happy with his first design and the second worked even if it wasn’t comfortable with it yet.

He will of course let Bjorn choose to wear it or not, but he believed his prosthetic will be superior to the classic peg leg.

Someone punched him on his arm without a warning, and it hurts! “Ow!” he looked around to the person that had attacked him by surprise not really sure of who could it be, none of his group had hit him before, not even playfully, and that was definitely a mean punch! It turned to be Astrid! “Why would you do that?!” he didn’t remember doing something worth being punched for!

“That was for not wearing any armor!” she said seriously, he looked around noticing that, in fact, every other Viking there had some kind of armor on them, mostly leather made and he was the only one using just a tunic… Astrid who was in the Fire Brigade had more armor than him!

However other than a few scratches he was completely fine! She punched him again… maybe it was his unrepentant face?

“And that was for scaring me!” she said without looking at him.

They noticed the Vikings around them were watching them and a few were snickering, Astrid shyly kissed his cheek, and added “And that was for not getting hurt!” Hiccup wasn’t exactly what was happening right now but getting a kiss from Astrid was a good thing!

He felt his chest well with happiness.

“Host your kin onto your home if theirs was burned. Go and rest for today Hooligans!” he was so distracted he missed most of his dad’s speech but the message was still clear, there was not enough time to rebuild before the first storms… and now with some light he could see a storm coming from the distance! It will be better to seek shelter with your kin with the threat looming in the horizon.

“Go home lad” Hoark who must have come back to them at some point ordered him, he just nodded in return, Astrid took his hand and they walked to his dad who was entering the Great Hall, he wasn’t even sure why he wanted to talk to him, maybe just to make sure he wasn’t hurt or anything, he looked fine from the distance but he just wanted to be sure.

When they were entering he heard his father talking to someone else “… Lost too much blood already when he got here, there was nothing we could do!”

“Aye, I’ll tell his family.”

Not far from them Bjorn was alone lying in a bloody cloth his leg missing as he already knew… but his face was gray and he wasn’t breathing….

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the late update, got stuck writing a scene on chapter 16 and then real life hit on Sunday and i sort of forgot to update… I don’t own HTTYD.**

Stoick felt relieved when the last of the devils take off, even if said devil was carrying a sheep on its pawns, a couple of spears were thrown in a last attempt to stop it… he will have to find out who threw the spears and have a chat with them about why it is such a bad idea to throw spears to the sky… they were lucky no Viking was hit when the projectiles fell.

He hoped all his squads were as lucky as this one, no serious injuries and a minimal amount of food lost in one of the worst raids of the year.

And then just as the sun rises from the east he inevitably looks towards the warehouse Hoark’s squad was assigned to protect and prays to the Gods for his son’s safety.

He knows his son is good for his age, he witnessed his prowess in the kill ring against a Monstrous Nightmare, every time he ask Hoark about Hiccup he is always told that his son has a good head on his shoulders, that he doesn’t chase after the dragons like most rookies do, like he himself did when he was his age, and from what he has been told Hiccup actually prefers to guard their food over the chance to kill a dragon.

If it wasn’t because he has already killed two devils… people liked to talk and he has noticed that the Jorgenson are in a talkative mood ever since the last Thing. It wouldn’t be hard to mistake his son’s actions for cowardice…

But it was not the case, his son surpassed even his most daring expectations he had before Dragon Training, Hel! He dared not to dream of Hiccup becoming this year champion!

But he did and has proven himself as a worthy Hooligan!

But he still worries like any other parent would.

Every time the dragons raid, his becomes a battlefield and his people warriors… warriors die in battles.

Reaching the Great Hall he sees Inga Thorston waiting for him at the door, that was always an omen death or at the very least a crippling injury.

Inga was the most likely person to succeed the Gothi on her sacred duties, she was also the island’s Head Healer during the raids because the Gothi is too old to go to the Great Hall fast enough after the horn is blown, and moving the priestess through the battlefield is too risky, her hut was too far to take the injured there, not to mention that because it’s size it can’t shelter more than two or three injured warriors at a time, so the Gothi instead spends her time preparing linen bandages and medicine to help afterwards.

That left Inga in charge of the victims of the raids, trained warriors would make the bulk of her patients but occasionally there would be a child, an elder or a non-trained woman that were too slow or just unlucky enough to end on her care within the Great Hall.

“Chief!” Inga spoke in that serious tone that he has learned to dread during the last three years, not that it was much better when the Gothi was still fit enough to treat the wounded herself, the old woman didn’t even needed words to let him know when there were bad news coming.

“Who is it and how bad it is?” he asked in very much the same tone she used, in all his time as a chief,, Stoick found this was something that never gets easier no matter how many times you do it.

“Bjor Ardvinson, he lost his right leg, he is in shock right now” the healer sighed, she doesn’t enjoy this more than him “I’m not sure if he will make it.”

“Is he the only injured?” he asked, Bjorn was in Hoark’s squad! He tried to reassure himself, if something had happened to Hiccup to Hiccup he would have been told.

Hiccup had to be okay!

Please!

“Bjorn is the only one in danger, Einar Hofferson, Duffnut Thorston and Una Ingerman all came in a little earlier with some burns… and if someone else is hurt it is either not bad enough to need a healer… or they are being too stubborn to come for help!” as the woman reported he let out the breath he didn’t noticed he was holding.

His son was not injured, his in-law probably had the usual burns one can expect after a raid, that is to say on his shield arm and judging by how Inga delivered this piece of news none of the other warriors were in actual danger.

His son was probably coming with the rest of his squad to report on this moment.

“Please do your best with the lad” he said in an even tone, he knew she would, but she is merely a mortal, she would do her best to heal the man while also praying to Forseti to try and get him to talk to mediate with Baldr for help from Helheim and from the skeptic nod she gave him it looked that they would need divine intervention to save the lad.

“Stoick!” Spitelout called him from the Great Hall’s gate where he and his other Lieutenants had gathered.

“How bad is it?” He asked, knowing full well that after this raid their food reserves are bound to be lower, keeping their food safe from all those dragons was impossible.

“We lost two crates but we got a Gronkle and two Zipplebacks… Snotlout almost got a third but it managed to fled when it realized how much it was outmatched!” his brother-in-law stated, the food lost wasn’t too bad when you listened to the first report, but it become a much different picture after you listened to everyone, and Spitelout had the tendency to not to notice one or two dragons that managed to get away with their share of the tribe’s food… they would only know for sure when they counted again… and it wouldn’t be Spitelout if he didn’t mention his nephews _near kills_ , it was just typical Jorgenson boasting.

“I counted 4 crates and a sheep at the end… sorry we couldn’t down any dragons this time!” Yakfingers said in shame after hearing he lost nearly twice as much food than Spitelout with nothing to show for it, he put a hand on his lieutenant’s shoulder to reassure him, his counts were almost always correct and his squad usually had the least amount of injuries and that was because of him, Hel! He had considered to put Hiccup under his care because of that.

“Three sheep,a bullyack and two Nadders” Hildnut Jorgenson reported in her usual direct way of speaking, she was one of the few Shield Maidens among his active lieutenants and he has witnessed his prowess in battle enough times to doubt her, she always did her best to protect their cattle, and it was always a tricky business.

Hoark had joined them at some point but he just noticed him when he gave his report “I counted four crates, we got two Monstrous Nightmare, a Zippleback and two Nadders,” he lowered his head in shame, he was a good man and an excellent warrior but he lacked the talents required to be a Lieutenat, he simply did not had the strategic mind and couldn’t adapt fast enough when the situation changed to something that had no  pre-made plan “Bjorn lost his leg to a Nightmare…” without looking up he asked “How is he faring?” it was clear that he was hoping for the best but was also ready for the worst.

Stoick shook his head somberly “The healers are working on him…” he didn’t need to say anything else as everyone understood the message clearly. There were two reasons he put Hiccup on Hoark’s squad, the first because they needed to fill in the spot left by Oddnut, whom was lost on a storm while he was on a fishing ship in the open sea, Hoark may not be ideal for a command spot but no one else in the island that could do a better job than him at the moment… besides the man is loyal to a fault.

And while he would never ask him to protect Hiccup during the raids, he knew that Hoark will always keep an eye on his for him, and he knew the man well enough to know he will go out of his way to make sure Hiccup would survive every raid.

The second reason was so Hiccup could eventually step up and relieve Hoark from command… that will put Hoark’s loyalty’s to test and prepare his son for the time when he has to take the chiefdom.

As Gunnar Hofferson gave his report he only paid him half of his attention because he found Hiccup among his warriors, safe and sound!

A moment later his daughter-in-law arrived punching him twice and kissing him once, there must be an interesting story there, but it can wait for now.

The reports delivered painted an ugly picture again, this year, like last winter they will have to ration their food.

Dismissing his men Stoick looked inside the Great Hall for Inga, she wasn’t very far having treated the worst injury tonight close to the door behind a table for some privacy.

One look was enough to know she didn’t had good news, it made looking at the pale face of his unmoving warrior no less painful though.

“I’m sorry chief, he had already lost too much blood when he got here!” the woman said with regret and a hint of inadequacy coming from her eyes, one that he knew personally; the healer has big shoes to fill, ironic considering how small the Gothi’s feet actually are, he felt the exact sa,e way for years knowing he would have to take his father’s place and guide the tribe, the same way Inga will have to one day take all of the Gothi’s duties are her own… back then he wondered how many boulders he would have to head-butt to keep his father happy, he couldn’t know what was on her mind, but it must be similar.

When his father died during a raid and he had to take his palce he constantly thought if that was how his dad would have handled it.

Inga has already taken the role of the island’s Head Healer during the raids, but she still consulted with her master from time to time.

She will do fine in the future, he knows it.

“I’ll tell his family” he said, it was his responsibility as chief, and they deserved as much.

He heard a gasp coming from a few steps behind him, it was Hiccup, he was holding hands with his lass and staring at the pale lifeless body of a man that had fought besides him in the beginning of the night, his reaction to the news were but a fraction of what Bjorn’s parents will be.

He looks at his son in the eyes “Bjorn died fighting in defense of his home and his people, I’m sure the Valkyries are already taking him to Valhalla” he said, the speech has been practiced enough times that it rolls out of his mouth easily, it was sad that it was the only thing he can say to make things look better, he was trying to convince himself and his people that the victims of the raids were on a better place now “go home son” he ordered gently, he knows how he is feeling, how could he forget it when he felt the same and more when he failed to notice his cousin Magnus needed help with a particularly Gronkle… of course he said it as a Monstrous Nightmare, just so Magnus could be remembered with the honor he deserved, even though he is the only one left of his kin that remembers…

And he could see the same guilt on his son’s face, Hiccup was probably wondering what could he have done different to save his comrade ‘What ifs’ and ‘If only had I noticed!’ are probably filling his head and, hopefully he will at least become a better warrior in the aftermath of this tragedy.

0x0x0

Ingrid left her home after making sure her husband’s nephew was comfortable on the corner of the hut the could spare for him during the day, Erik will have to share his bed again but just for a couple of months this time… her youngest will be upset when he hears the news.

Einar was drunkenly sleeping off the mead the healers gave him to dull the pain in his left arm, he was lucky to have raised his shield in time, unlike that poor lad Bjorn that must be at Valhalla’s doors by now.

She hurried up the hill where the chief’s hut was, it has been only a couple of days since she last saw her daughter but after the raid she needed to make sure she was safe and unharmed.

Every Viking was praising the Fire Brigade for their job last night, she knew Astrid had been there with them like on every raid for the last three, almost four years, she grew restless and the need to make sure Astrid was safe wouldn’t go away, perhaps because this was the first raid she didn’t saw her daughter right after it ended. That must be it!

Once there she politely knocked the door and carefully listened, anticipating… a voice, footsteps or any sing that there was someone home and she was rewarded by Astrid’s footsteps on this foreign floor, getting closer and closer, she knows it’s her and calms down.

“Mom!” Astrid greets her, it looks like she doesn’t feel well, did something happen to her last night?!

“Astrid, dear… how are you feeling?” looking around for her Son-in-law, she knows Stoick is preparing the funeral pyre for the Ardvinson lad but Hiccup should be around if Astrid wasn’t feeling well!

Astrid shook her head weakly “It’s just my blood, I was lucky it didn’t came in the middle of the raid!” she said sounding relieved.

“Oh!” Ingrid felt better too, knowing that there was nothing wrong with her daughter, but she was not impressed by Hiccup’s absence!

She almost failed to notice that this means there was no little Haddock on the way, she wouldn’t be a grandmother yet.

It was a bittersweet piece of knowledge…

On one had this would help to dissipate the rumors surrounding the hasty wedding but on the other hand she wanted a grandbabe!

“Where is your husband?” she asked, she was a little concerned about the lad too, one of his brothers in arms had just died after all.

Astrid let out an angry, embarrassed scowl before saying “When he noticed the blood he ran away yelling he would go for a healer!”

Ingrid had to resist the urge to laugh, of course he motherless lad wouldn’t know about a women’s courses… who would have taught him? Stoick? Ha! She would be surprised if the widower remembered about them!

“How bad is it?” she asked more relaxed knowing her daughter was fine after all.

“Not too bad,” Astrid admitted, she looked more embarrassed that in pain at the moment “it wasn’t even that noticeable!” Astrid gave an irritated sigh “men are such idiots!”

“Now, now, don’t be so harsh on him, he only wanted to make sure you aren’t hurt” she explained, she knew her daughter doesn’t like to be nursed, almost considering it a sign of weakness.

“I told him it was just my period but he didn’t listened!” her daughter voice was becoming more and more frustrated, it wasn’t normal for her to be this agitated for something like this, even at this time.

“I’m sure he was just worried about you” she explained soothingly, it wasn’t a bad thing that the lad was worried about her “One of his friends just died of blood loss and then his wife starts bleeding?” she asked rhetorically as she tried to explain this from Hiccup’s perspective, and she managed to get Astrid to calm down a little.

“I still think he is overreacting, it’s not like I’m injured!” her daughter said, as if it was obvious… and it was, to them, Astrid has been having her period almost two years now, but to a scared newly-wedded lad like Hiccup… this must be terrifying!

“Does he knows that?” she asked seriously.

“Astrid looked at her with incredulous eyes and said “Hiccup? He is the smartest Viking in Berk!”

Ingrid couldn’t help herself and smiled at the compliment Astrid gave the lad.

“Intelligence and knowledge aren’t the same thing Astrid, how would he know if no one told him?” Hiccup’s ignorance wasn’t his fault at all, and she was more at ease now knowing Astrid was being cared for instead of neglected as she sometimes feared.

“Stoick…?” she lifted an eyebrow to let her skepticism be known at the half statement half question her daughter gave her instead of an answer.

So she looked at her daughter in the eyes challenging her to say she truly believed that!

“Gobber!” Astrid said more confident this time.

“Ha! I doubt Gobber even knows about this himself!” the blacksmith was the only man over forty years old on the island that has never being married, rumors aside she doubted someone had bothered to tell the man about a woman’s cycle.

And it seemed that the Hooligan traditional way to tell the newly married young men about it was waiting for the wife to bleed… it was the same with her and Einar! And after that her Mother-in-law was the one who ended explaining things to her husband, this was a painfully similar situation… just Hiccup doesn’t has a mother…

“Mom!” Astrid said with pleading eyes, she didn’t need to explain what she wanted from her right now, so, seeing as the lad has no mother and her daughter was unwilling and indisposed…

“Alright, I’ll tell him!” the things one does for her children! “Did you had something to eat yet?” she asked, it was one of the things she worried her when she thought of her firstborn, she knew Astrid didn’t enjoy cooking and that sometimes her food was… lacking.

Astrid shook her head and said “I was going to… but then my blood came and Hiccup bolted out to look for a healer!” the younger woman was shaking her head with exasperation “And with Stoick taking care of…” Bjorn funeral was perhaps one hour away, their chief was racing with the storm clouds in the horizon for that, she doubted her in-law had thought about eating at all.

“Come then. I’ll help you fix something for your family comes back” she still has to get used to the idea that Astrid has her own family now, and it’ll only grow in the future.

“Let’s go to the cellar then!” Astrid said accepting her help without a fight, the pains must be much worse than what she was showing for that to happen.

0x0x0

The storm was almost upon them, he could see lighting, hear the thunder and there were little drops of rain already hitting his face.

The funeral pyre was ready and the brave man who died last night was cleaned and put above it, ready to be honored by his survivors whom will be left here on Midgard to keep fighting.

It wasn’t rare for a Viking to fall in battle, when he was younger he never bothered counting the fallen ones.

The dragons came and raid and they fought… and sometimes Vikings died, it only bothered him on the rare occasion his kin died, it was hard to lose an uncle or a cousin… whose name was Jorgenson.

He looked at Hiccup, the beautiful Astrid by his side, she wasn’t looking well today, and maybe she was starting to realize her husband’s uselessness after it has coasted a fellow Hooligan his life?

And he was sure it was Hiccup’s fault too!

 The way he was looking at the pyre could only be described as ashamed and guilty!

He didn’t knew what happened exactly, he was busy fighting elsewhere, and he almost got a dragon this time too!

 But according to Hoark it wasn’t his cousin’s fault and it was just a dragon wanting Viking meat instead of salted fish… but he doesn’t trust that man, not with the way he has been lying to protect his useless cousin!

The fool was probably trying to earn some favors from either his uncle or Hiccup, but he was just wasting his time!

And he was sure it was Hiccup’s fault, his face was telling enough.

Hiccup was responsible for a fellow hooligan’s death and he knew it!

He could see his father, his uncle, the clan heads, and his uncle’s lieutenants near the front of the crowd from his vantage point, with them was Mildew, the wise old man was looking grim as the fire was started.

He could still remember his council.

Was this just the first of Hiccup’s incompetence victims?

What other calamities await the tribe?

His Uncle was blind were Hiccup was concerned and he had the wrong people whispering on his ears!

He had to save Berk from his cousin before it’s too late!

Snotlout looked at the armory and made a painful decision, he was sorry… but a few will have to suffer to save the village, it will be hard.

But it was a chief’s job to make the hard choices.

And as the future chief of Berk… he chooses the many over the few…

**A/N: sorry for taking so long, this chapter was writing last week but I had a few issues IRL and kind of forgot to update…**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys I’m back! And I still don’t own HTTYD.**

The storm lasted four days and sometime during the second day the rain turned into snow.

With Bjorn death still fresh in people’s minds they resumed their daily routines the morning of the fifth day.

Some Vikings have volunteered to retrieve a nice pine tree from the snow filled forest, Yule will soon be upon them and the Gods know that his people needed to raise their sprits!

He needed it too, he knew it was silly that he somehow ended up believing his on tales… there was no one to blame but himself really, his Daughter-in-law’s moon blood had come the morning after the raid. So, no little Haddocks yet.

Hiccup told him loud and clear that nothing happened the night he awakened him to ask him to make an offer for Astrid.

Hiccup had been nervous back then, he did his best to hide it but he could see through him and when he asked and his son told him nothing had happened he thought it was a lie!

It probably was as Gobber has told him, and his boy was simply afraid he would say no to him.

If Gobber was to be believed his son was crushing on Astrid for longer than he has been working on the forge, and he never noticed! Having never noticed of his son long standing crush ashamed him: His friend knew more about his son than himself.

Lately he was trying to correct that and making an effort to get to know him better but at the same time it was also important for Hiccup to get to know Astrid better.

Now both of them have limited time in their daily lives with him busy with his chiefly duties and Hiccup with his work in the forge… the storm was an opportunity he embraced and tried to make the most out of it.

Hiccup had asked him for tips on dragon fighting, he was almost shy about it, as if he was ashamed to even ask.

But he told him about his most memorable kills over the years and a few of his own failures… he thought sharing the story of the night Valka was taken away but he simply didn’t had the courage to do it.

One learns more from defeats than victories, but he really hopes his son never has to learn the lesson he got that night.

Hiccup was especially interested on how to bring down the bigger trophies like Monstrous Nightmares, Scauldrons, Timberjacks and the likes, he did his best to share the wisdom he gained through experience and suddenly it was as if Hiccup was four years old again… except that he didn’t get distracted this time, there was no attempt to hunt for trolls or gnomes, he noticed that he missed his son’s childhood for the first time since Hiccup became a Viking.

His son was an adult, married and hopefully soon to be a father, it made him happy but it also brought sadness when he noticed he couldn’t recall too many instances of him and his son passing time as father and son.

Now it was not only him and Hiccup like it had been for far too long, with Astrid his audience had doubled!

Astrid was a good lass too, and so far she had proved to be worth her Bride Price, and while she has been taking care of his home splendidly, her cooking as acceptable -even if he had to admit that Valka set the bar pretty low there!

But there was no denying that Astrid’s real value was her aptitude with the weapons.

Since their marriage she has been teaching Hiccup and making sure he trained, she was extremely talented with her axe even if she was still untested but there was no way to denying that, like there was no way to deny that Hiccup’s training should have been managed by him, years ago.

She also unknowingly showed him just how much he neglected his son up until now.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way, when he married Valka he envisioned a large family with his firstborn being a Viking like himself, big, strong and brave… it wasn’t fair to say his son wasn’t brave and lately he has been learning that more than one kind of strength exist, but Hiccup didn’t looked like that image of the perfect son he had once dreamed with.

Now he was a lonely man in charge of a tribe and he lacked the time to raise his only son…

Had Valka lived, they could have been a real family, Hiccup would have siblings maybe one girl and another boy or two with Valka taking care of them when he couldn’t and just been here, like a reason to go back home instead of being the reason he avoided his hut, he could not bear her absence and it took him years to be comfortable in his own home again.

And he now realized how much of a fool he was, he had lost his son childhood by putting him under Gobber ‘s care… and to be frank, while the blacksmith was a good friend he filled Hiccups head with tales of trolls stealing socks, and that ended distracting Hiccup for far too long.

He was a fool for thinking of things that can’t be and he knows it.

Because the devils took his wife and left him a widower with no idea of how to raise a son alone so there was no reason to ask himself how life would have been now had Valka lived?

Especially when for the first time in years he has reasons to look up to the future: His son was doing well on the raids, Hoark and his comrades had only good things to say about him, and if not this month maybe the next or the one after that he would hear the news he wanted to hear, it was comforting to know it was just a matter of time before his son tells him he would become a grandfather!

Then his son will have an heir and the island will rest assured that there will always be a Haddock to lead and protect them.

He will consider Einar’s debt paid when his daughter gives his son a baby boy, and that will be a baby that won’t have to grow up wondering how it was like to have a mother like Hiccup had because unlike Valka, Astrid will not hesitate to end any dragon that gets too close to her baby!

That was the reason the Bride Price of women trained to combat dragons was higher than the rest, it was Valka’s death that made his people realize that if the chieftain’s hut was vulnerable, if the chieftain hut could be invaded in the middle of the night during a raid night before anyone had a chance to evacuate then everyone was vulnerable.

What could his warriors do but to rely on their wives to put their children to safe and fight off any devils that would prey on them when looking for tender human flesh…

It was Duffnut Thorston the first one to seek a powerful and respected shield maiden with a marriage proposal and a Bride Price twice as large as what was considered a good offer back then… Phelgma had been stunned by the offer by the offer and understandably intrigued by it.

Shield maidens back then were… cheaper back then and often remained unmarried until the Valkyries took them to Valhalla after they fell in battle, not many Vikings wanted a wife that would wipe the floor with their asses whenever they showed up drunk instead of a more caring and delicate wife that while not less sever was less efficient in the process of disciplining them for their misconduct.

Duffnut explained why he wanted a strong wife and it pleased Phelgma to be seen as strong, she naturally told everyone who would listen about the compliment. His people tried to be discreet about it whenever he was around but eventually he the gossip reached him too.

And a few months later his sister Aldis was injured protecting her son from a dragon, a Nadder, that had shot a quill on her belly, she lost her ability to bear children that fateful night, but at least she lived and dedicated herself to her only child and sadly had to stop helping him with Hiccup out of fear of what could happen to Snotlout if she so much blinked…

Shortly after that raid another Shield maiden was betrothed for an outrageous bride price, and then another…

Soon everyone understood that they could get better deals for their daughters if they taught them how to fight than if they just raised them to just take care of their homes as was traditionally done.

These days everyone taught their daughters how to fight, and he had more warriors to call upon, that is how the Hooligans kept strong even with their shrinking numbers and in an ironic way he considered that to be part of his vengeance… but it didn’t really comforted him, not like finding and destroying the nest would…

0x0x0

Hiccup had the habit of waking up with the sun, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed getting out of bed during a winter morning!

Yes, it was difficult to leave the comfort of the warm furs and face the cold air and do his chores, and this year it has become even more difficult.

When you wake up to a Valkyrie resting her head on your chest you dared not to move and just enjoyed her warmth and hope it last forever.

It doesn’t and you must get out of bed to walk through the snow left by the storm, Hiccup was just glad to work in the forge, good old and warm!

Gobber was already there heating it and preparing some of the damaged weapons to be repaired as soon as they could, but for once there was no sense of frantic urgency, they could take their time and make sure every sword, shield and axe are in perfect state or simply work on the more mundane tools the tribe needs to operate normally or… spare parts for Toothless tail!

He has been very worried for the last few days, he couldn’t face the storm and confirm what his friend was doing… he hoped some of the rock walls in the cove were angled the right way to shelter him for the worst of the winds and snow.

But if not at least his friend can now at least seek shelter in some other place.

He had to explain to Toothless about the limitations of his new tail and it seemed he understood that he must not go too far. Right now he really wanted to be at the cove and see how his friend was doing, but more importantly, still find his friend there!

When Astrid joined him in the forge he was able to produce some of the most delicate parts of the mechanism required for the tail to work properly, those he thought were the most likely to break, bend or just snap during flight, especially on a storm.

Now he and his wife were walking through Berk’s forest to visit their Night Fury friend with Astrid mostly recovered form… it wasn’t exactly an illness and it confused him greatly, but apparently it was perfectly normal for a woman to bleed once a month and it was a sign of her fertility but at the same time that she wasn’t pregnant… it was very confusing and as Ingrid has told him: No one is certain about how that really works. It is just a fact of life that should just be accepted.

Tomorrow or the day after they would be able to be… together again, he just hopes Astrid would want to, she was very angry lately.

With some luck a visit to the skies will appease her.

Finding the cove was not the same with all the snow around but once they got there finding his friend was easy, just like finding an ink drop in a new parchment!

When they got there Toothless was laying on top of a big rock like Loki would on a high shelve.

“Toothless!” he said greeting his friend to get him to acknowledge his presence, and he was immediately showered with draconic affection, he was relieved to have found his friend to be in a good condition after the storm, his tail was unharmed but he still replaced a couple of things just to be sure, Astrid was a big help keeping Toothless distracted by talking to him, rubbing his scales and telling him he was a good dragon… life had a strange sense of humor.

He looked up to the sky searching for any signs of a storm coming to Berk or going to towards the nest.

“Up for a ride Bud?” he asked once he made sure the tail will hold, Toothless nodded absently too focused on the rubbing going on to be bothered “Did you eat?” he asked but it looked like his friend had the chance to go fishing recently, he wasn’t behaving like he was when he was hungry back when he stopped raiding the Great Hall and his Dad’s cellar to feed him. Toothless nodded again and arched his back to allow him to climb, which he did and then scratched behind his friend’s ears to show his appreciation once more, then Astrid joined him on the Night Fury’s back… and he flinched…

“You alright?” she asked having noticed his reaction, he forgot to tell her he was going to the nest today!

“Yes, I’m fine…” he just didn’t knew for how long though, she has been punch happy lately and his shoulder had hematomas not from the raid… but from her reminding him he needs armor, and if he could get one with padding on the shoulder it would be great! “I was thinking about going back to the nest to get a better look at the Queen today…”

“That sounds like a good idea!” Astrid said smiling, but not getting down from Toothless.

“Alone.” He knew she wouldn’t like it but last time they went to the nest… it was a close call.

“What, why?!” she asked angrily, demanding for an answer.

“It’ll be dangerous!” he replied anxiously avoiding her gaze by purposefully looking forward.

She pushed him a little “Of course it’ll be dangerous, you are going to spy on a dragon half the size of a mountain!” she put her arms around him as if securing herself the way she did when Toothless and him felt flying in a straight line was boring “That’s why you need me!” she insisted as the pressure of her arms around him became a little painful and he understood she had no intention of letting him go alone.

“Astrid,” he began trying to turning around while being held, it was a bit painful, and he found her arms didn’t allowed him that maneuver “I want to get closer to it than the last time, and I don’t think Toothless here can get us out in time if it is the two of us!” the last time it was close enough for his liking and they barely managed to escape, and he wanted to get closer this time!

Astrid’s arms tightened enough to make it difficult for him to breathe “I’ll go with you, I’m not letting you get too close to that thing!”

“Air!” Astrid arms relaxed just enough so he could breathe again “Look Astrid, Milady, I need to take a good look at it, and figure if it has any weak spots or something, because, right now all we know about it is that it is huge!” they needed details and a good look at its body, and that was why he needed to get close, and more importantly, he needed to be able to get away.

“If you want a good look at it then another pair of eyes will help!” she said leaning forward and resting her head on his shoulder.

Maybe she was right and he didn’t need to get too close to it, and she had a point, she could see something that he could miss and in the likely case of having to flee she could look behind them while he focused on escaping, maybe even provoking the beast to make it expose itself?

“You are coming with us no matter what, right?” he asked knowing full well the answer, after hearing her hum sounding too pleased with herself he added “hold tight!” before prompting his friend to take off toward the Nest.

0x0x0

The flight to the Nest was a pleasant one, just like the first, with a big yet subtle difference, there were no other dragons flying around carrying their loot this time, just the blue sky and a faraway cloud was their only company and it was a relief to not see a dragon carrying a strange, fat, bald, hornless yak, she still wonders what that thing was and just how far do the dragons go to procure a suitable offering to that monster!

She didn’t minded it though, because to be able to fly unhindered was simply wonderful, up here it was as if there was no war, no burning buildings, or dying comrades, no hut to take care of and the only other Viking around wont stare at her expecting a swollen belly, in fact, Hiccup could not stare at her at all, his eyes were fixed in front of them.

Looking over his shoulder she could see the mist concealing the nest up ahead, the mist was hiding what seven generations of Haddock chieftains failed to find and what has become their great secret, the only dragon the eight generation of that same dynasty wanted to kill, and probably the only dragon whose life mattered when speaking about the war!

As Toothless expertly guided them through that curtain that has coasted so much to her tribe and ironically also kept them safe from the dragon Queen, Astrid lifted her chin from Hiccup’s shoulder to put instead rest it on his back to shelter herself from the cold winds, looking at her left all she could see was a white mantle and toothless black wing, she could hear Hiccup’s beating heart even over the wind… if not for their self-imposed mission this would have been such a wonderful experience!

In no time at all they were flying above the island that housed their ancestral enemies and the monster that ruled over them, the hollow mountain dominated the view, it was almost impossible to take her eyes away from it.

Hiccup had Toothless flying in circles around the top of the mountain and all she could see then was the hole at its top, as if expecting the giant dragon to leap out of it to eat them whole.

Her husband’s hearth beat increased its tempo when they landed on the same crevice they used the first time when they first saw the colossal dragon “Can you get us lower Bu?” Hiccup asked kindly while scratching Toothless heat.

Toothless whimpered softly but obeyed.

On the ground Toothless back wasn’t as comfortable as in the air and it was an agitated ride as the slowly went lower and lower into the mountain.

There was something wrong about this, last time the Queen sniffed them even further away and didn’t hesitate to attack them and while they were moving behind the rocks in case the dragon was just waiting for them to get closer they were still in a great disadvantage in this situation “Hiccup?” she said softly “Don’t you get the feeling that there is something going on here?” she asked hoping at the very least to warn her husband that there could be something besides the huge dragon lurking around.

“This feels different than last time” he agreed with her but said nothing else, his voice was a just a whisper, the same as hers, and as they went further down the mountain itself got warmer, it was a welcome change from the cold world outside, and the lower they go the cove grows bigger as if to be able to accommodate the Queen, they kept themselves close to the wall keeping an eye on the smoking darkness that concealed their tribe true ancestral enemy.

After a few minutes they finally reached the cave’s bottom and Toothless moved on his own doing his best to muffle every step he takes, the smoke wasn’t helping them, they could barely see beyond the black dragon’s noose.

Toothless stopped moving.

“Let’s keep moving Toothless, I think we are close!” Hiccup said but the dragon stubbornly held his ground and refused to go any further.

“Toothless, come on Bud, just a little closer so we can see it!”

The dragon instead shook his head and turned around as if preparing to leave.

“Toothless…!” her husband insisted in an ultimatum tone, not different from the one her mom used on her and Erik all the time when they refused to obey, or eat eels. It was quite a funny situation to witness: the most feared dragon know to Vikings being scolded like a six year old child!

Come on Toothless, just a little closer so we can see it!” she said trying her best to imitate her mom’s voice when she encouraged her little brother to try something that looked scary, that is being sweet and encouraging at the same time, and she has seen it work a lot times; trying this on the Night Fury was wouldn’t hurt, right?

To her surprise it worked and the dragon took another hesitant step forward but he was still tense.

Just a few steps ahead and they could finally see the silhouette of the Queen’s gigantic body, the huge snout and nostrils with teeth and fangs as big as her father in law and two small eyes staring directly at them!

“Hiccup!” she whispered with urgency, the beast was staring at them!

“Get us out Bud!” her husband yelled and this time there was no delay from the dragon as it bolted to the side and the Queen noticing that they wouldn’t get any closer decided to attack, the enormous head moved with deceptive speed and she could appreciate just how big it’s fans really were and for an instant all she could see was the interior of its opening mouth!

It lasted for a second only and then there was the sound that can only be produced by teeth hitting teeth right after her vision changed that of rocks.

Toothless managed to get them behind a large wall and started climbing as the other dragon screeched and roared hitting the wall with it’s head trying to make them fall!

The worst part was that no matter how much they climbed they couldn’t get away from her!

She was just too big and they knew how high she can reach within the mountain!

Suddenly Toothless changed direction again and they were inside a tunnel moving far faster than they could ever dream on their own power, the further they got in the tunnel the darker it gets and soon she couldn’t see anything but Toothless kept moving forwards, thank the Gods!

After a couple of minutes of uncomfortable riding they finally saw light and Toothless unfolded his wing, soon after that they were back into the skies.

They didn’t said anything as they flew back home, this was a repeat of their first encounter with the creature, almost exactly the same, except… “It was waiting for us!” Hiccup said once they landed in the cove.

Yes, they were ambushed by that monster, and, had they been any closer they would have been eaten!

“How did it knew we were there?!” she asked, they could barely see in the middle of that smoke!

 

**AN: So sorry guys, had to avoid looking at the screens for medical reasons.**

**That said I haven’t been completely idle, I have one more chapter written on paper and half of chapter 18… half of which is a lemon :P.**

**Funny fact about the first movie, in the scene where they fly to the nest for the first time there is a dragon carrying a hippopotamus… that hippopotamus is Gloria from the Madagascar movie, so it is canon!**

**Please review!**

 


	17. Chapter 17

I don’t Own HTTYD or any related media.

Berk was white, almost completely, even the tall pine trees had a coat of snow covering them, and it was something they missed when they parted to the nest, but it was strangely alluring now that they have returned from the nest from their excursion. It helped to distract them from having escaped being eaten alive a second time.

The Queen had really ambushed them, it somehow knew they were there and instead of attacking them immediately like the first time it laid and waited for them to get closer.

And if it wasn’t because Toothless speed and a close by wall they would haven’t escaped.

Neither of them said anything since they left the Nest, and now landing on the cove and having time to put their thoughts in order it was time to talk about what in Astrid’s opinion was admitting their failure.

So she was surprised when Hiccup took out his small notebook and started drawing on it, soon she could distinguish the vague form of the Queen’s head on the parchment, but many of the details were wrong, its mouth was bigger than what was shown in the picture, its nostrils weren’t as large as she remembered and he seemed unsure where to place it’s small eyes.

It took her a moment but she understood he was trying to remember how the monster looked like, and to her she wasn’t succeeding.

“The mouth was bigger” she told him, he looked up at her and smiled, then carefully erased the line with his hand leaving a black blur and drew over it, mostly retaining the shape but increasing in size this time being just a bit too big but still close enough to stay as it was… besides, while she managed to get a better look she could still be wrong, it wasn’t as if she had the time to calmly examine the beast.

“The eyes where there…” she said dragging the last syllable while her finger touched the spot on the parchment where the eyes should be “and there” a couple of minutes later Hiccup had a very good look alike of the dragon Queen on his hands, or at least of its head, its body still remained a mystery in shape, because she was pretty sure It’s green hulking mass did not reveal a lot to her, it just confirmed that the huge head was attached to an equally huge body.

“This was a big failure…” she said, they didn’t learned anything new about their enemy and they risked their lives for a picture and nothing else…

“That’s not true!” Hiccup said turning the page of his notebook and starting to draw again, this time it was a simple circle surrounded by runes she recognized as those of North, South, East and West; he marked a spot on it between south and west, by the shape of the mark it was obviously the cave the used to escape “At least we know a bit more about the Nest now.” He said with a smile that showed a lot of teeth but little satisfaction.

She supposed it was true that they now know more than before their latest near death experience… it just felt so little compared to how much they risked!

“It’s not much though!” she said, when they first took off she expected being chased, the ambush was a nasty surprise!

And while that was worrisome on its own, she also got a strange feeling while on the Nest, it was as if something was out of place and that feeling was nagging her thoughts and she was taught to never ignore that feeling.

“Yeah, I know” Hiccup said lowering his head, she almost forgot he was there as well and it is them both… no, the three of them that just avoided death a couple of hours ago because of the way he was acting “It’s just that I didn’t want it to feel like a total waste!” her husband said wile combing his hair with his fingers.

She sighed and then smiled, here she was too busy thinking of how they were defeated to notice what they have achieved something after all.

Their goal is to kill a monster that’s probably older than Berk itself and obviously a formidable opponent and thinking it would be fast. She smiled because she had been underestimating the Queen unintentionally, and while she clearly doesn’t think the Queen as weak the issue here was that neither she nor Hiccup have an accurate idea of how dangerous it really was beyond the fact that it could kill them on the blink of an eye.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, the Queen was dangerous but there was something else going on the Nest… and if they didn’t even knew what it was, then it could end the with the same ease as the Queen “Hiccup…” she said getting his attention, she briefly looked at the parchment, it had a few more details added hastily as if Hiccup was trying to get them on paper before he could forget them “Did you notice something wrong back there?” she asked unsure of how to explain what was troubling her.

 He seemed to think about it for a moment, but in the end he just shook his head and said “Something was different, but I have no idea what it was!” he was as sounding as uncertain as she was and clearly uncomfortable with the idea of having to worry about yet something else besides the Queen.

“Yeah, me neither” She admitted looked away focusing instead on their surroundings. “So…!” she asked tentatively “What do we do now?” it may be unfair  to ask that question right now, but she wanted to hear that there was a next step to take, that they weren’t defeated yet!

Hiccup looked hesitant at first and it made her feel as if her stomach was tied into knots and it grew worse as his silence prolonged and he just kept staring at the picture of the beast on his parchment just touching parts of it with his charcoal stick, first its eyes, then its nostrils, then it lingered in the left side of its head “It couldn’t have seen us…” he was right, the fog there was so dense she doubted the dragon could have seen them “So it either heard us or it sniffed us…” after saying that he lifted his head and stared at the sky intently while hitting the parchment with the charcoal rhythmically as if it was a drum and then suddenly he just stopped “Next time…” she had to smile at that, because there if will be a next time it means that they aren’t defeated and that they aren’t giving up! “We won’t speak once we enter the mountain and just to be sure, we will disguise our sent…” he paused and looked at her with curiosity and asked with embarrassment “DO you know how to disguise smells?”

“Of course!” she said enthusiastically, more than once she listened to her father, uncles and older cousins while they were preparing for a hunting trip “Some dirt, some fresh leaves and…” she grinned at the memory “urine… if you have any” it was gross, but according to what she heard it was a must if there was any available “Anything that doesn’t smells like home” she completed and almost laughs at the face of disgust on Hiccup’s face.

“It sounds charming,” he said sarcastically “let’s try it!” but he said the last part with surprising sincerity.

She couldn’t help her laughter.

0x0x0

Those were four long days for him, locked inside his parents hut without anything to do… no wonder why he hated storms!

It didn’t help any with his growing anxiety he was feeling about his plan and it kept piling up… and maybe moving to his parents basement wasn’t such a good idea, it was so cold down here, he was using two extra furs on his bed and it was not enough to keep him comfortably warm in the nights.

Still, he made use of his time in the best possible way he could: training with his dad’s weapons.

His dad has been prouder of him because of this.

That changed once he managed to blunt his sword and axe, almost broke his boar hunting spear he treasured and messed with the handle of his war hammer… then his dad was understandably pissed off and made him use the wet stone to sharpen his sword and axe until they were razor sharp.

They didn’t have the tools to fix the spear or the war hammer so he was tasked with getting them to the blacksmith to be properly repaired.

He was happy to have avoided doing that in the morning but his dad caught him on lunch and strongly suggested to take them in the afternoon… or else!

And now here he was walking to the forge with the spear on his right hand and the hammer in his belt, unable to hide the scowl on his face. He didn’t wanted to see Hiccup, he was too angry about his fellow Hooligan’s death to no punch the useless excuse of a Viking right on his face.

No one mentioned Hiccup’s role on the tragedy, all that was said was that there were too many dragons keeping them busy with defending the food and a Monstrous Nightmare just attacked Bjorn and took his leg and possibly more if not for Sven’s intervention, but that hadn’t been enough to save the victim from blood loss.

Where had Hiccup been when that happened?

Cowering in some corner or probably being saved from a dragon himself, but of course no one would talk about it!

He didn’t needed to be told anything when he saw his cousin’s guilty face at the funeral

He didn’t wanted anything to happen to Hiccup, but he was becoming a nuisance in the raids pretending to be a warrior.

Had they’ve had a real Viking helping them maybe Bjorn would still be alive!

As he approached the forge he stilled his nerves calming himself so he wouldn’t punch the runt on his face or yell at him to stop pretending to be something he isn’t!

Hiccup isn’t a warrior, he isn’t a Viking, much less the Heir the tribe deserves.

He could only sigh in relief when he saw Hiccup walking away from the shop even as his hearth broke when he noticed Astrid walking at his side playfully hitting him on the shoulder. She would have been a good… never mind!

Once at the forge he noticed that there was no one in sight “Hello!” he said out loud to call for the two limbed blacksmith that should be inside, it would be too good to be true if Useless had just left the forge unattended.

“On my way!” Gobber’s voice came from the backroom. Yeah, he wasn’t _that_ lucky.

A minute later Berk’s master blacksmith was in front of him, he was probably interrupting a meal judging by the crumbs of bread on his moustache that were swiftly removed by his flesh hand leaving only a satisfied, smiling face “hat brings you here today, lad?” he asked in a carefree way that made him deepen his scowl.

“I’m a Viking now!” Snotlout said reminding the blacksmith of his status, many older Vikings tended to forget he is an adult now that he is a dragon-slayer warrior.

“Aye, aye!” Bobber’s dismissive response enraged him further, the blacksmith was on the list of people that covered his cousin’s many faults, going as far as awarding him the undeserving first place in Dragon Training, he will be in deep trouble when he becomes the chief! “What do you have there?” the smithy asked motioning at his hands.

“Dad wants them fixed” putting spear and war hammer on the blond’s hands while trying to sound as authoritative as possible, his response was a raised eyebrow.

Gobber took a look at the weapons, the hammer was first, he lifted it and frowned “What Spitelout did with it?” he asked incredulous as he inspected the damage on the weapon.

He didn’t answered and when the two limbed Viking noticed he wouldn’t get an answer out of him he too the spear next and inspected it almost as fast as he did with the hammer and said “This needs a new shaft. You can come for them tomorrow at this time and Hiccup will have them ready by then”.

“Why can’t you fix them yourself!?” he asked, he didn’t want Useless touching his dad’s weapons, what if they broke in the middle of a fight or something?!

“Because I have other things to do lad!” Gobber excused himself much to his charging.

“My dad want you to fix them yourself!” he insisted, he wouldn’t be visiting the armory tonight if he trusted Hiccup to do a good job, he won’t risk his dad’s safety with his cousin’s subpar skills, honestly, how could anyone risk themselves with Hiccup’s work its beyond him, but he wanted his dad to be safe.

“Well, we don’t always get what we want!” the blacksmith said putting his dad’s weapons in a pile next to the forge before going back to the backroom finishing their conversation.

But he wasn’t done yet! “Dad won’t be happy!” he said menacingly making the other Viking stop mid-step and turn around to face him. Gone was the easy-going attitude and on his place was the angered instructor he met in Dragon Training.

“Listen, lad” Snotlout was about to protest again but Gobber wouldn’t have any of that and continued raising his voice just a little so even if he spoke the blacksmith would still be heard “Spitelout knows better than to press for a job at this time of year! I’m busy enough just checking the catapults without having to do my assistant’s job because someone wants to see me struggling with my prosthesis!” the smithy expression softened momentarily “Go home and tell your father his weapons will be ready tomorrow.” And with that he did end their talk for good, leaving him stunned.

Snotlout was not used to be denied anything, be it a toy, a weapon or a fresh baked pastry, he was always given what he wanted and told to greet his Uncle for the Viking giving him what he wanted.

Even here in the blacksmith he was always treated better than the rest… although never with the reverence that the rest of the tribe has for him.

Thinking about it, lately he has noticed some of the villagers were giving him the cold shoulder, it had him confused because he couldn’t see what could had happened to make those few villagers act that way when just a few weeks ago they were vying for his attention as he walked through the market.

All his life people called for him to taste their cheese or pastries… that had all but stopped, the only ones that still offered him samples were his kin and a few others, but most people had simply stopped overnight.

That coupled with his friends busy working had made his days extremely boring. He couldn’t make fun of Fishlegs because he was with his dad all the time and the twins haven’t played a prank in like… weeks! He couldn’t even remember the last one.

“You still there lad?” Gobber’s voice brought him out of his thoughts.

The two-limbed Viking had a set of tools he was not familiar with neatly organized on a cool looking wooden box with many compartments for easy access.

“Where are you going?” he asked ignoring the older Viking question in favor of his own curiosity.

Gobber smiled indulgently at him closing the box after making sure he had everything he needed and said “I’m checking the catapults to see if they need some maintenance, have to have them ready for when they beasts come back, you know!?”

He smiled in return, despite the blacksmith bias he still had a vital role within the village and he was a hard worker.

“Need a hand?” he asked noticing another box in a table, it wasn’t big but it looked heavy… and Gobber could have troubles carrying it with his prosthetic.

“Aye, just need to get the supplies to the spot” Gobber said with more enthusiasm than what he thought the blacksmith was capable of. He took the box, which was indeed heavy, and could understand the other Viking gratitude because the box he was carrying looked a lot heavier than the one he took. It would have been a pain to carry them both even if Gobber was _whole_.

It wasn’t a short walk either, but they made it there without a problem.

“Thank you lad!” the blond said with a smile and a pat on his shoulder.

“It was easy!” he boasted, and it honestly wasn’t all that hard “And I’m a Viking now!” he reminded his future subject.

“Aye, aye!” Gobber said dismissively making him frown again “It’ll take a bit longer for that to sink in!” there was melancholy on the blacksmith voice “Just a couple of months ago you were in Dragon Training, learning how to fight off the beasts… and I did a good job teaching you lot!” Gobber grinned and it was contagious.

He couldn’t deny that everything he learned from the man has come in handy and he wished he paid more attention back then, but even like that he still did well in the raids. Come to think of it, in the future Gobber will be able to brag having taught the chief!

His animosity evaporating, Snotlout had to agree with the older Viking “Aye, just remember I’m not a kid anymore!”

As Snotlout began to walk away he heard the blacksmith grunting in agreement “Yeah, you, the twins, Fishlegs and it won’t be long before Hiccup and Astrid become parents; you are all grown up now!” Gobber melancholic tone was back, he was kneeling with his tool box in front of him, he couldn’t help but stare incredulous at the man’s back, he was the only _real_ Viking of his cohort, the others haven’t killed a dragon in a raid, he was sure Hiccup didn’t kill a dragon that wasn’t caged and Astrid hasn’t killed a dragon period!

Snotlout turned and walked away without replying to Gobber; the man has important jobs and is valuable member of the tribe, even now he reminded himself he has an important job to do at the armory.

0x0x0

Without a hurry he made his way to the armory, he had time and it would be better if no one saw him near it, he knew that what he was planning to do was wrong and that it was very possible someone would get hurt because of him, and the chief’s nephew or not, he would be punished if he was discovered, and it’s precisely because of that, that he must do it. Hiccup’s status as the chief’s son won’t save him once his incompetence is exposed.

His stomach reminded him that he was still growing and his lunch was not enough to fill him lately because his mom started rationing their food so it could last through the winter.

He hated winters: short days, long nights and depressingly long storms that would keep everybody locked inside their huts and of course, the hunger!

He just hoped they won’t have to resort to skipping lunch this year…

Without noticing his feet took him to the market, there is no one trading cheese or sausages, no one with freshly baked bread, the villagers were instead bartering furs and cloths so the chance to get any food had gone down from improbably to impossible… unless aunt Daffnut was working on the Great Hall right now!

There was always something to eat there and aunt Daffnut was always kind to him.

Smiling he changed his course, he had daylight to burn anyway, why not spend it getting something on his belly?

On his way there he saw various children playing  around, he recognized his eight year old cousin Nooselout organizing the others for some game among them was Erik Hofferson, he recognized him easily because he will be his brother-in-law when he and Astrid… never mind! It was _their_ loss, he hurried as if trying to escape his own traitorous thoughts and before knew it he was in the Great Hall sneaking into the kitchens , it wouldn’t be good to be caught here either, even if the punishment would be just a slap in the back of his hand it was a matter of principle.

Standing close to the door he looked around searching for his aunt and when he found her chopping some vegetables he made his way towards her, crouching trying to make himself as small as possible to avoid been seen by the other cooks who wouldn’t be as kind as his aunt if they found him.

Every person in the village has the right to eat one meal per day in the Great Hall and stealing food, depending on how the tribe's reserves, could get you into big trouble… if you weren’t related to Uncle Stoick, that is, and while the other cooks would not let him have any food they won’t tell anybody either.

“Auntie!” he whispered barely loud enough to be heard by his aunt, she had always had a soft spot for him and she loved when he called her auntie.

It was nice to see her reaction as she noticed him, a genuine smile and comprehension, she mouthed a silent “Wait outside” to him and he nodded getting off of the kitchen being careful to not being seen.

Once outside he waits in the shadow of a stone column, from experience he knew he was hard to spot there and that rarely anyone bothered looking this way so he patiently waited there trying to guess what will his aunt bring him! Maybe some mutton or some roasted fish, sadly stew, soup and especially pastries where out of question, the first two because they were hard to hide and he would need a spoon for them, during winter no one made pastries, every drop of honey was made into mead, he liked mead, but right now he would prefer having something to eat than to drink.

 He could hear voices coming closer from the outside so he pressed his back to the wall to make himself harder to see more out of instinct than of need.

“Aye, there is always the next month” that was Uncle Stoick talking!

He concentrated to hear, he always liked hearing his uncle speak when he was chiefing, and sometimes he would spend hours trying to emulate him afterwards.

“There is no hurrying this things, it’s up to the Gods!” the other Viking continued, his voice was not unknown to him but he was having trouble matching a face with it “See you tomorrow for dinner?”

“We’ll be there, I’m sure Astrid will be happy” he heard Stoick reply confusing him for a moment before understanding came to him.

“Ingrid misses her terribly and I won’t lie, I miss her too!” Einar Hofferson said as he parted ways with his uncle.

Why was it so painful to listen to that?

He didn’t knew but it was like someone rubbing salt on an open injury! The Hoffersons were ambitious and greedy, he knew that, and it was that greed that coasted him Astrid!

He knew his dad made several offers for Astrid on his behalf, tried to negotiate a Bride Price more than once, but he was always turned down. His dad used to reassure him telling him that would take care of it, explained that Einar wanted to wait until Astrid passed Dragon Training that he thought she could win it and that after that he would be more open to negotiate and accept a more realistic offers…

Of course Hiccup ruined that by getting his Uncle make that ridiculously large offer.

As a result Astrid’s parents were now rich and he was denied the most beautiful girl on the village!

All because his cousin’s whims!

It was so unfair!

Hiccup got everything given to him just because who his father was!

“Snotty!” he almost shouted in anger at being called by that particular nickname, the one everyone used when he was a small child, but stopped when he noticed it was auntie Daffnut who was calling him with a rag concealing something in her hands.

Truthfully, he lost his appetite to just how unfair the world was, but it would be unfair to vent his anger on her; not to mention it would be wasteful.

He forced himself to smile and thank his auntie for whatever she had managed to sneak out for him.

“Are you ok lad?” she asked and again he had to hold his anger in check, reminding himself of Gobber’s words, auntie Daffnut still wasn’t used to him being an adult and her calling him lad was actually a step forward.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about something” he told her to reassure her he was fine.

She smiled again and said “Say “Hi” to your dad for me and enjoy your treat!” before turning around and going inside again.

He took a look at the bread in the rag and forced himself to eat, trying to not let his cousin ruin his appetite, but… it was so Unfair!

Hiccup gets to have whatever he wanted just because who his father was!

The sun was finally disappearing in the horizon he made his way to the village’s main armory, he has a few things to do over there.

**A/N: Plans are being made or put into action, stay tuned for chapter 18 next week, featuring my first attempt at citrus writing!**


	18. Chapter 18

Nope, I still don’t own HTTYD… yes, Just checked.

Big noose, small eyes and… does it have ears?

It was not impossible but the chances of both, him and Astrid failing to notice them were slim.

The chances were still there thought, so he couldn’t discard that either.

Sight, hearing, or smell, one of those three senses allowed the Queen to detect their presence last time they visited the Nest and he had no idea which one was it!

With those relatively small eyes and that dense fog he thought there was no way they were seen… at first.

Small or no ears, there was no guarantee this was not the sense that alerted her of their intrusion, Nadders have no ears and they certainly aren’t deaf.

If he had to bet on the answer, his money would be on the dragon’s noose, those nostrils were big enough for a person to fit inside and considering Astrid and him were whispering until the Queen attacked made him more certain of his choice.

“It’s cold, come to bed already!

Now that she mentions it, it is indeed cold, that’s winter for you!

“Be right there!” he said but he didn’t stopped looking at the shape of the Queen he had on his table, yes, he would be it was their smell what alerted the giant but he was not a gambler, he really doubted Astrid would let him go to the Nest alone after the ambush, especially with her insisting that she felt something was out of place there, and he could feel it as well, but he didn’t thought it was something dangerous, of not as dangerous as she thinks at least.

“Do I have to drag you here Dragon-boy?” Astrid asked sarcastically once again interrupting his musings.

Sighing he stood up and closed his journal, not before giving his sketch one last look.

He was using a long, white tunic and underwear, he has been ready to lay in bed for quite a while now, and Astrid was already there, waiting for him.

And even under the extra furs he could still distinguish her glorious figure, getting under the furs he could see her smile now that they were face to face and he decided then and there that there was no way he would ever gamble if there was a risk of losing her!

On their next trip to the Nest they will stay out of sight, keep silence and disguise their scent.

They still need to know more about it if they are going to kill it though.

“Sorry, I was just thinking” he told her, it took a lot to get pass his memories and fears the chase had given him to start analyzing their foe in a serious manner.

“I was thinking as well” she said as he covered himself with their furs and nodded at her to tell her he was listening “I think I know what was different!” she was reluctant but she got his attention.

He couldn’t stop himself and asked “What was it?” he was focusing less on that problem because they now knew more about the Queen and it seemed easier to concentrate on it for some reason. However the other matter about the nest was important as well and they shouldn’t ignore it either.

“It was empty,” She said and it took him a few seconds to really understand what she meant “The Queen was there, but she was alone.”

Of course! The first time there were dozens of dragons flying back to the nest, and instead there were thousands of them!

“Were where all the other dragons?” he asked out loud even knowing Astrid wouldn’t know more about the dragon’s whereabouts than him.

She shrugged and said “I don’t know, but it’s kind of logic. I mean they don’t attack us at this time of year because they are somewhere else!”

Yea, she was right about that but… “Where are they?”

“And what are they doing?” she completed his thoughts.

“We could use this!” she was more enthusiastic now and it was contagious.

“How?” he asked.

“Don’t you see?” she asked, her smile growing brighter “The Queen isn’t always guarded, of course we will have to observe more but maybe in the future we will be able to choose the best time to attack!” she said excitedly pausing for a second at the end “When we find a way to kill it… that is”

He felt a bit guilty, he had made no advances on a method to kill that Loki spawn and even though there was no malice intended he knew that finding a way to kill the Queen was his job.

She must have noticed what he was thinking because she asked “Maybe I’m thinking too far ahead?”

“It’s fine” he said trying to sound convincing but some of his doubts still managed to leak through his voice “I’m sure we will find a way to do this by then!” at least he would stop looking.

“The head usually holds the most weaknesses…” she said, it was her turn to think out loud “We could even poison that thing” doubting herself but that was a really ingenious idea, and it could actually work!

“You’re a genius!”  He told her genuinely, it was really a brilliant idea, if they could poison a crate of food and let it eat it!

“And don’t you forget it!” she said with a satisfied smirk.

Feeling more at ease now that they had an idea on how to deal with the Queen he noticed how could it was even under their furs, but Astrid was warm, and she was smiling and just being so… Astrid, he moved his arm slowly towards her and then he rested it on her hips while he was looking at her eyes waiting for her to tell him to stop or maybe just tell him his hand was cold, because it was, at least compared to the warmth he could feel through the fabric of her sleeping robes.

But she said nothing and her own eyes were locked on his, those blue eyes were not disapproving or threatening but curious filled with anticipation.

Slowly he rubbed her hips and she in turn moved her own arm until she too had a hand on his hips.

It was an unspoken agreement of sorts, they would lay in bed, talk for a bit and then he initiated some form of tactile contact, on their second night he nervously took her hand into his fully expecting to have it slapped away by her, the third night it was her shoulder and from there his hand would seek her hips every night.

She would reciprocate his gesture and then they would slowly close the gap between them as they were doing right now.

Today was the first time he dared to touch her like this after her _cycle_ showed up that he tried to get intimate, Ingrid made it abundantly clear that sex was a no go for a few days… five she said, at least five and he waited as patiently as he could.

That is not to say he avoided touching her altogether, he just reverted to holding hands and they somehow always ended in an embrace… it was warmer that way.

But today something unexpected happened, Astrid was the one moving forward… more or less, her hand moved from his hips to his penis and just tested his hardness, he was not completely ready, but he wanted this, and he felt happy it was her the first to… touch because that means that maybe she wants this as much as he does, that she isn’t only letting him do this because it was her duty as his wife.

He didn’t wanted her to see sex the same way she sees spinning, if it came to that he’d rather stop than forcing her to do something so intimate just out of duty.

But as he felt her hand cares his growing length on her own he couldn’t help but smile, because this was not something she would do to keep boredom at bay during a storm but something she enjoyed like he did.

 His own hand boldly moved to her pussy while her hand made him gasp and moan as she moved faster, his dad was downstairs sleeping, or trying to, it would be embarrassing to wake him up.

They always tried to be silent, it was, again, something they both agreed.

His fingers started working around her entrance, he was looking at her face intently, trying to memorize were his fingers would get him the most noticeable reactions, the pleasurable ones to visit again and the uncomfortable ones to avoid.

Astrid suddenly pushed him so his back was on the mattress and he was staring at the ceiling. Did he hurt her?!

Before panic could take control of him she climbed on his chest and awkwardly kissed him.

This was new!

He just kissed her back and allowed her to take control of the situation, after a few seconds of intense kissing she looked at him as if asking for permission to… to do something. What? He wasn’t sure, but he nodded in agreement anyway.

He was curious and wanted to find out.

He could feel her lifting the fabric that was covering her and he took that as a cue to do the same, she suddenly had a lust-filled smile adorning her lips when she noticed what he did and then he could feel her hand maneuvering him so they were lined up and he understood what the Valkyrie wanted just as he felt her wet and warm entrance begin to descend on him slowly… he couldn’t help himself and without a conscious thought he pushed his hips upwards surprising her and making her moan along with him.

They stopped not wanting to wake up his dad by being too loud, neither of them moved, trying to hear any sound coming from bellow the stairs and after a moment they realized that they didn’t awakened the third person on the house they moved again.

As Astrid moved up and down and he tried to match her movements in the unfamiliar position he could see the smile on her face so similar to when they train and she manages to get him into a particularly clever trap that he never saw coming and that smile alone was worth this… experiment and that was not all he could see either, his wife was not using a breast binders, she never did on the bed, and he could see her breast bounce with the same rhythm as the rest of her body.

Using his idle hands he moved decisively and without a second thought he just grabbed the round mold of flesh on his left hand while his right hand positioned itself on her waist and squished with his left hand feeling the soft flesh give in to the pressure making Astrid moan again, he released her breast and gave her an apologetic look for doing that without asking first and possibly hurting her.

In response she bent forward slightly putting her own hand on his chest for support and grinning she said “Not so hard next time!” before going back to  work.

His hand again reached for her breast but remembering her warning he didn’t applied as much pressure this time, but she stopped again, looking at him seriously she said “A bit harder!” he tried again and, she shook her head “Harder!”

He couldn’t avoid laughing at a strange thought that suddenly appeared on his mind, it made her stop and look at him without really understanding what was happening with him so he decided to explain himself “It’s like with my contraptions” he said but he could see that he still needed to clarify it further “Calibration issues” he said and squished her breast again and Astrid laughed as if he just tickled her, he squished again, this time earning himself a moan and he could swear he felt her tightening around him.

“That’s the way!” she said lustfully as she started to move upwards and he tried to replicate the feat while Astrid increased tempo inciting him to move his hips to match her once more as the both desperately approached their release, he almost wished that moment could last forever.

Astrid stopped suddenly, her body was trembling in a way he has come to associate with the climax of her pleasure; his own hips kept moving though and soon he found his own release.

His wife let herself fall onto their mattress and he smiled at her and he felt his heart trying to jump out of his chest when she returned his smile.

Suddenly he was kissing her, capturing her lips with his, it was the first time he has kissed her without asking for permission first, not even on their wedding ceremony he dared to kiss her without her express or implied approval.

Slowly he ended the kiss, he separated his lips from hers fearing what he would see. Would she be mad at him?

Astrid said nothing for the longest time, her smile was gone and her expression was indecipherable and lit looked like she would stay silent for the rest of the nigh but she took his arm on hers and turned around enveloping herself with it.

He sighed in relief and smiled, smiled because there was hope.

Hope that his crush that was clearly growing into love won’t always be one sided.

He moved closer to her and eyed the candle illuminating their room, it wouldn’t last long and he felt that it wasn’t worth to lose the comfort of this embrace to save a couple of minutes of light.

0x0x0

She was wearing a blue dress with a beautiful pattern embroidered all over it, her hair was braided in the fanciest way she could manage alone with the obligatory bun indicating her status as a married woman while they walked to her parent’s hut, she was also wearing the golden pendant that she learned was her father-in-law’s betrothal gift to his late wife, now it was hers and it was far from the only thing she now owned and _had_ to wear, it was at her mom’s insistence that she now looked like a Yule tree with the amount of jewels she was using, but Stoick was looking at her with approving eyes.

She is now Lady Astrid Haddock, lawfully wife of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and her husband is the rightful heir to the Hooligan tribe of Berk, and she was the mother of the future chief… not that she was pregnant, but it one of the tittles she got when she married Hiccup; being his wife gave her an ostentatious position.

She never envisioned herself into that position, not even knowing Hiccup had a crush on her for who knows how long!

But this was her reality and she is clan Haddock’s only way to showcase this kind of wealth, and there was a considerable amount of wealth on display with her, and she is wearing a real fortune on her right now, it was certainly more than what her parents expected while raising her, well, people can dream… but this was probably her parent’s wildest dream come true.

The kind of dream one never expects to fulfill, she was sure her dad never expected this while raising her to become a warrior, a shield maiden.

But if she was honest with herself married life wasn’t as bad as she expected, granted that when she imagined herself married it was to someone much older than her, a big Viking who would want her inside his hut at all times demanding meals, laundry and sex.

Instead Hiccup was kind, considerate and would fight her to let him get into the kitchen to help her preparing their next meal and always made sure she _wanted_ to be with him and never dared to touch her without her consent… until last night.

He had kissed her without warning but she could tell that he was more scared of having abused her trust than her of him forcing her to kiss him… he didn’t need to say he was sorry because she knew he was.

It was her own reaction to the kiss that had her troubled: she made embrace her and spoon her.

Sleeping together they were bound to get close during the night, they always wake up to some kind of contact from the other, usually Hiccup getting out of bed. She had gotten used to exchange her pillow for his chest.

Las night was the first time they slept in a tight embrace and she was the one who started it.

Worse even was the fact that it was done in answer to Hiccup’s kiss.

How would he take it?

And more importantly, what did she meant?

She didn’t loved Hiccup, she was sure of that, not Hiccup was impossible to love, far from that, she was lucky to have married him instead of some older Viking or worse: Snotlout!

He was kind and caring, and above that, he will allow her to help to protect the village during the raids as she always dreamed, that alone made her lucky, there have been divorces over the matter and she seriously considered it as an option earlier in her life:

Getting married, endure her husband, bear him a child and then divorce as soon as possible.

But with Hiccup… she could actually see herself still married to him thirty years in the future, if the live that long, not because of his position or because she actually thought he can put an end to the war, but because she actually was enjoying her life with him.

And no, it wasn’t because it was comfortable or because he standing in the village, no.

She was pretty sure that if things had played differently and somehow Snotlout ended becoming the chief and her his wife she would go with her divorce plan!

Because Snotlout doesn’t respect her and thinks himself to be a better warrior than her, she was reasonably sure that he would have also allowed her to fight the dragons, but she has no doubts that he would also made her stop before anyone could notice that she was a better warrior than him… while Hiccup has specifically told her he wanted her to help him bring honor to the Haddock clan, and it was implied that it wasn’t only through the kind other women get on bed bearing children but also through her skill as a warrior, as a shield wife!

And yet, she didn’t loved him, he had her respect and gratitude… however, loving him wouldn’t be too bad.

“Stoick!” her dad’s voice was heard as he came out of his hut to greet them, his face was still slightly red from the burns he got on the last raid but he wasted no time and enthusiastically shook the chief’s hand before moving towards Hiccup to shake his hand and pat him on the shoulder while also saying his name with the same enthusiasm as he said Stoick’s before moving to her and embracing her in a hug as if they haven’t seen each other in years when it was only on last Thor’s day.

“Come in, come in! It’s cold outside!” he said motioning them to go inside.

The hut had undergone a few changes, mostly new furniture and there was a new chest where hers used to be, probably cousin’s Svein considering he has been staying here because uncle Magnus hut was recently destroyed and they’ve been rebuilding it, a hard task during winter and now that she thinks of it, because of the storm they’ve only started working on it yesterday.

“Good Evening!” Stoick greeted once her mom was in sight to which her mom responded in kind, smiling and walking forward to hug her.

“Hey Astrid!” Erik really surprised her by hugging her the same as their parents , of course due to his age he hugged her legs, but that was not important, she had missed them more than what she had initially thought.

“Mom!” she reciprocated her hug and a second later she was messing with Erik’s hair with her hand “Hey yourself Rat!” it was hard to let go of the nickname, but she said it with true affection and for once her little brother didn’t reacted negatively to it.

Her dad had invited them over for dinner yesterday and of course Stoick accepted and told them about it during today’s break breakfast, she spent her day as usual until noon she had lunch with Hiccup and Gobber but today she didn’t accompanied her husband to Toothless’ cove, regretfully staying behind to spin some wool because she knew her mom would ask and she didn’t wanted to lie when she said she was keeping _everything_ in order, oh, and she broke her new distaff, frail wooden stuff!

Her mom had a new table with a really nice carving in the center depicting a longboat with a Viking crew manning the oars and a few archers aiming at… nothing?

“It’s a nice table” Stoick commented idly trying to break the ice as all the males took seat and she and her mom retrieved the pots and bowls the same way they would have three months ago.

“What are the archers aiming at?” she asked as she was sure both Haddocks… both other Haddocks had also noticed that there was no target for them.

“It’s not finished dear” her mom explained “Dogwings was supposed to carve a Monstrous Nightmare but he hurt himself with his hammer. Said he will finish it next week once he healed enough.”

Made sense in her opinion, shame it wasn’t finished before, she would have loved seeing it complete.

“Oh! Hiccup exclaimed, from where she was she could see his face and she was sure he was about to make a sarcastic comment “I thought it was a Night Fury!”

Alright, at least it was funny and everyone was laughing, but hey? People say the best place to hide a tree is in a forest so maybe he was into something.

“Like the one you shot down in autumn?!” she asked teasingly and hoped he would catch on and understand she was just playing along with his joke.

“I really thought I had it!” Hiccup lamented mockingly sighing and moving his arms in that Hiccupy way of his.

The older Vikings must have found it funny too, her father animatedly patted Hiccup’s back in a somewhat comforting way while Stoick and Ingrid only chuckled. Erik looked as if he didn’t understood the humor of the situation.

“You know, I’ll tell Dogwings to leave the table like that just to tell they are aiming at a Night Fury!” her dad said as she helped her mom to fill a set of lovely new bowls, they were polished and shiny. The comment however made her mom stop pouring the stew to glare at her dad.

“I won’t have an unfinished carving just so you can joke about it!” her mom said firmly but she was challenged by her dad’s unrepentant smile and after a couple of seconds they both laughed it off.

Hiccup looked at her as if asking: what has just happened?

She shrugged, her parents have inner jokes not even her understands.

Dismissing it as normal she took a bowl on each hand and put them in front of Hiccup and Stoick as had become part of her daily routine while her mom did the same for her dad and brother before she was motioned by her mom to the empty spot at Hiccup’s side where she waited for her mom to fill another two bowls for them.

They ate in silence mostly with her mom occasionally asking how they were doing or her father making a comment about this or that and just generally making small talk all the while she enjoyed the familiar taste of her mom mutton stew, it was a rare treat in the household that was aimed to please Stoick most likely and this was on the beginning of the winter, something her parents would have never done last year.

“I didn’t heard any Night Fury on the last raid” her father said after a while.

Stoick nodded acknowledging her dad’s point and responding “As far as I know, there wasn’t one, thank the Gods!” he sounded very relieved and she smiled knowing that there will probably be a lack of Night Furies in the future, that alone meant a lot for the tribe and it was because of Hiccup!

“You should thank Hiccup!” she said smiling and softly punching her husband’s shoulder. She was having so much fun watching him blush!

After a short laugh Stoick said “Now that I think of it, there hasn’t been a Night Fury raiding since we came back from the last expedition!” as if he just realized that and looked at Hiccup wide-eyed and then asked him “ where did you said it crashed back then?!”

Hiccup was looking uncomfortable now, it wouldn’t be good if the chief suddenly started looking for Toothless on the island, so maybe she talked too much!

“East side of raven point, Dad… I looked for it for a month after Dragon Training and never found the carcass!” Hiccup said as if lamenting his misfortune, he was becoming quite adept at saying half-truths at least, but she wasn’t sure if it was an improvement or not.

Stoick looked upset but it was only for a fleeting moment “Don’t worry son, we’ve been trying to shot down those beast for centuries, at least you were close enough to scare it!” he said while trying to cheer up Hiccup.

“I think I’ll live!” Hiccup said looking at her and taking her hand on his.

She smiled awkwardly but allowed him to continue holding her hand.

0x0x0

He blew off their new candle and enveloped her waist hesitantly, he was slowly growing bolder and she approved.

“I thought you wouldn’t like to be reminded of Toothless…” she whispered just loud enough to be heard, she wished she had never said anything about it tonight. The Night Fury’s injury was like an open wound to Hiccup even after all he’s done to help the dragon.

“I didn’t liked it… but I sort of started it and our dads were laughing so I went along with it” he tried to sound nonchalant, but couldn’t quite nail it and some of his true feelings leaked through, mostly regret and guilt, she really hoped he would get over it in the future, especially considering that Toothless seemed to be doing fine right now and she doubted the dragon held a grudge against him.

“I’m still sorry thought, Toothless could be in danger now!” she said feeling guilty, she could have exposed the dragon tonight.

“It’s ok, dad will probably forget about it soon, he has more important things to do.”

She wasn’t so sure about that, a Night Fury is the trophy every Viking wants, Hel, if she didn’t knew all she knows now, she would have wanted Toothless head on her wall!

0x0x0

Stoick lifted his pillow retiring it from his head.

Tomorrow, yes… tomorrow is the day he will get earplugs!

That was his only option, really.

Asking them to be silent would be embarrassing and discourage them, well maybe not for long, but he has been called to mediate between a newly married couple and their neighbors enough times to know how uncomfortable it was.

And his son and daughter-in-law were loud!

Living at the top of a hill they really didn’t have any neighbors close enough to be bothered so no one will complain, certainly not him.

Besides, at least he knew they were… working to secure his clan’s future.

Speaking of the future, he started a small journal after the dinner with the Hoffersons, he will be keeping account of the raids from now on, and it was only to confirm a hunch of his.

If no Night Furies attacked that would mean that his son really shot down the devil!

**A/N: well that’s that, what did you dear readers think of my first lemon? And let’s not forget about the dinner with the Hoffer sons :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**I** **don’t own HTTYD.**

He has been careful, very careful and he was sure no one has spotted him so far and no one has noticed the poor condition some of the weapons in the main armory are, and they are in a bad shape!

Dull blades, loos axe-heads, and spears with badly damaged shafts or ruined tips.

He has been working on exposing his cousin’s incompetence to the tribe and was actually hoping for someone to find the damaged weapons before the dragons returned.

Hiccup would be blamed and shamed and after that he would become his Uncle’s Heir without any Hooligan having to get hurt in the process.

That, if Midgard was an ideal world, but after losing Astrid he knows this isn’t an ideal world.

The weapons he… modified were well concealed and the damage was not evident at first glance and would hopefully be delivered to the food warehouses soon.

He was not looking forward to the return of the dragons because even if he was saving the village from his cousin he was still making things happen faster… or perhaps not, everything always happens as the Norns intend, and he was just their tool.

Five weeks have passed since the last raid and the village was once again looking to the skies, dreading the return of the flying lizards… there were so few real warriors in the tribe, so few like him that were impatiently waiting for them to return, and with them the chance for glory!

Today or tomorrow the Vikings will start to move the bulk of the weapons into the warehouses and he will be watching closely.

0x0x0

It was cold, the snow made walking into an infernal chore, he was hungry and tired, the food on his family’s reserves will only last about three more weeks according to his mom, he’s not seen it personally since that particular room was locked, the same way it was in most other huts in the island.

The room were the food was stored it’s the only one worth locking because food it’s the only thing worth stealing… and it’s not hard to put other stuff in the room either.

Hiking alone through the forest in the middle of the winter was not something Tuffnut wanted to be doing but it’s what he is doing, he has to check the multiple traps he’s set two days ago hoping to find something he could bring with him back home.

He already has two hares hanging from his left shoulder and some rope on his right one. His family will have an adequate meal out of them but they needed more if they wanted to be able to feed the cats… the little fur-balls can hunt for themselves most of the year but on winter…

On winter they are as likely to end in one of their neighbors pots as any hare, because their cats aren’t used to flee from Vikings. It’s better to have them inside and safe than tempting the hungry villagers.

Walking to his destination he sees the old and sweaty tunic he hanged from a tree was still in the same place where he found boar footprints.

There are no signs of any track right now but that was because the snow that fell last night, he continues his path without further inspection until he finally arrives at the pit he dug earlier this week.

There it is, and there is a boar trapped on it!

The trap was simple, just a pit covered with fallen tree twigs dirt, leafs and some snow, the tricky part was leaving a sent trail that the board _avoided_ to get to its burrow after he chased it away. After that he set items that smelled like Vikings around forming a bottleneck directly to his pit.

Imagining a dragon in its place Tuffnut pierced the wild pig’s hide with his spear once… twice… thrice, until it dies.

He was a better trapper than his dad but he wasn’t quite as good when it was time to deliver the killing blow.

With great effort he pulls the carcass out of the pit, his dad would have, somehow managed to minimize the bleeding, sadly he couldn’t and with all the blood around it he now can’t use this pit again.

Tomorrow he will have to dover it and dig a new one but for now he just drags his trophy back home… hopefully it’ll last them a week or more after giving part of it to the tribe, something about showing he was a good provider.

Entering the village dragging a decent sized board was very noticeable… and he liked it, the few Vikings on his way back greeted him with smiling faces and coveting eyes, it was expected that he would share his good luck with his fellow Hooligans, but he would do so by fiving a portion of his catch to the Great Hall, that was his dad’s order… besides that way it is as if everyone was getting a bit of it.

While Berk doesn’t grow any food at this time of the year and fishing was asking for an early grave there was still hunting and trapping to bring food and deplete their herds.

This year winter hasn’t been so bad and people were happy about it, but at the same time no one said anything about it, fearing that saying it out loud would bring the rage of the ice giants or something.

But with just a few storms and not as much snow the tribe was able to get some of the forest boons and relax a bit.

The other day he heard someone say it is because the gods are happy with the tribe while dinning in the Great Hall, Mildew was there too… he wished he had some rotten eggs or something to throw at him, but he didn’t and the old man left un-pranked after saying the gods were happy because they were following their traditions and to him, that didn’t sounded right, there was no way Loki was happy with them! He missed pranking but after his dad made him start helping on the fields he hadn’t had the time to get creative and this days his dad has him wandering in the forest looking for game.

“You aren’t a child anymore!” he said “You need to start thinking about the future!” his dad was always with him when they weren’t hunting. He has trained with his dad more in the last month than in the last three years!

His dad wanted him ready for the next years raids and wanted to be sure he would do well with whoever he was assigned to, his dad wanted him on aunt Hildenut’s squad.

He just wanted to be on the same group as Ruffnut, he would never admit it out loud but he missed his Butt-elf sister.

0x0x0

He looked at the closed book on the table longingly.

He was reading last night and he was on his favorite part too, Thor was about to take out his dress and beat the Giants!

Thin his dad put off the candle and sent him to sleep and he hadn’t had the chance to pick it up again.

Sure, he knew how the story ended, it was a favorite of the Gothi and his but Gobber didn’t made it justice, so when he first read the story on the book it was like hearing it for the first time all over again!

He had to the book back on his granduncle hut tomorrow, he feared someone will notice it wasn’t there!

He loved books but he doesn’t own any, he tried to copy one on a tree bark two winters ago but his mom ended using them as timber without noticing…. Fishlegs was one of the rare Vikings who can read on the island and he only learned because Aldis Jorgenson thought Snotlout would learn faster if he had someone else learning with him to motivate him. That was when they were ten years old and he was lucky to be the one selected only because none of the Jorgenson children wanted to learn.

He always felt fascinated by books when he was a child he thought they were in some way magic and he would always try to look over the shoulder of the few older Vikings who knew how to read.

Now he knows better, books aren’t magic… but the runes on them are!

They are like miniature spells that store memories, thoughts and all sorts of information that would never be forgotten as long as the book existed!

He envied Hiccup more for his books than his skills as a dragon-slayer or his status within the tribe… well if he was the Heir he could have some books! He also secretly thought Snotlout was a fool whenever he hears him say his trademark phrase: “Why read the words when the things the words are about!” or was something like that.

“How’s that bear turning out son?!” his dad asks reminding him he should be craving wood instead of thinking about books.

He looks at the small log in his hand that it’s vaguely taking the shape of a bear… if you squint your eyes really hard!

“It’s not ready yet dad!” he replied fast hoping his dad wouldn’t come to check his work, he was going slow and the book on his table kept distracting him!

“Just try not to ruin the wood son, that’s oak you are working with, shame on you if we end tossing it on the heart at night!”

He sighed in relief knowing his dad wouldn’t be inspecting his work for the time being, he was making a bear toy for Liplout Jorgenson, one of Snotlout’s cousins and her father offered them one and half mutton legs for it!

He didn’t enjoyed carving but the trade was good and he wanted to have mutton for dinner!

0x0x0

She was spending too much time with her mom lately.

That’s not something she’s enjoying… it’s not that she doesn’t like her mom, it’s just that she was very different from her!

Ruffnut is a Hairy Hooligan and she likes being one! She likes that she was a trained warrior, a member of the Fire Brigade and a certified, albeit untested, dragon fighter.

Her mom wasn’t a born Hooligan, she was born in one of the southern-most isles of the archipelago, so far away from the nest that by her own admission dragon raids there consisted of a couple of dragons trying to get fish from their harbor and two dozens of warriors racing to chase the beasts away!

And while her mom has learned the ways of the tribe she didn’t embrace them.

If her mom had her way while raising her she wouldn’t be the confident and mischievous  warrior she is today and instead would be… don’t know, something else, probably a perfectly trained wife just waiting for her father to approve a suitor like her mother had once been.

And lately that was exactly what both of her parents were trying to make her!

All day, every day, doing chores for her mom and when she thinks she’s done for the day and grabs her javelin to train or wants to escape and play a prank on someone her mom is there to stop her!

She hasn’t trained properly in weeks and she’s already feeling rusty and certain that if she fought Tuffnut she would lose! Tuffnut, she would never admit it in front of him but she misses hanging out with him, but like with her he now spends most of his time with one of their parents and now they almost never saw each other and when they do it’s always during meals, they certainly don’t have the time to plan any prank… they could improvise something of course, but it would have to be something simple and that would be something unworthy of their genius.

It made her wonder if it was necessary to lower their standards to keep their reputation. But on the other hand too many simple pranks would have the same result…

Not knowing what to do in respect to that her inactivity made her life become unexciting … no if she was honest with herself she had to admit that her life right now was boring!

The other day she saw Astrid in the blacksmith and it looked like even she was having more fun than her, and she was married!

She really thought marrying was the end of any woman’s fun; caged inside a hut doing the same chores day after day only getting out to fight dragons when the raid and that too ended when the woman gets pregnant and giving birth doesn’t mean going back to fight, often enough the new mothers have to stay in the Great Hall, sheltered with their babies for “their own protection” until the child is old enough to know how to behave during a raid and by then they would probably have another child to look out for!

Motherhood almost always mean the end of a woman days as a warrior.

There were exceptions, of course, like aunt Phlegma who was a better warrior than uncle Duffnut and in their case the rest of the woman of clan Thorston happily looked over their children.

That was another reason why she believed marriage would be the end of her fun days, exceptions like aunt Phlegma only happened if the shield maiden married a Thorston man.

The Jorgensons, the Hoffersons and the Ingermans would not emulate her clan practice to allow a female warrior go back to battle!

And those were her options, of course there are smaller families not affiliated with the larger clans but even if the wanted they couldn’t emulate what her clan is doing… to them the possibilities of losing both a child parents was unacceptable… Astrid was in a similar position.

Sure, the Haddocks _are_ a clan, but they are only three.

Ruffnut knew that marriage for her would be like entering a cage and throwing the key away!

But considering how her life is right now it would be more like exchanging one cage for another. ‘At least Astrid got a nice cage’

0x0x0

Winter nights were cold and if anyone could just stay on their homes covered in furs close to the fire they would.

Eating in the Great Hall was something everyone did, even with the weather, it was just something everyone was forced to do.

Every Viking has contributed one way or another to the Great Hall’s kitchens so it was their own hard earned food they were eating.

And it gave them a great excuse to socialize!

True it was cold _outside_ but in the Great Hall they were dry and warm, they had food, drink and good friends all around!

His people were happy and protected inside the stone structure build by his ancestors, and that always warmed his own hearth.

Not everything was perfect though.

Right now Stoick wasn’t enjoying his food or drink because of one of the men on his table.

It wasn’t because of Gobber, Gobber is a good friend, a trusted advisor and a good administrator.

Spitelout is his brother-in-law and a good friend and despite his ambitions he still considered him loyal, but it was his ambitions that were creating the tension that impedes him from enjoying the night, normally he was used to cast aside Spitelout ambitions as mere dreams.

He knew of his brother-in-law dream is having Snotlout becoming the tribe’s next chieftain… in the past he entertained the idea, but he never gave up hope on his own son’s potential to become a good Viking in the end… and it was happening!

Hiccup is still the smallest Viking on Berk but he was now a tested warrior and a married man. A man that in his eyes was a worthy successor.

Spitelout past remarks about how small and weak Hiccup was coupled with praises to his own son’s physique and future prowess were annoying but tolerable… so to avoid an uncomfortable talk he always switched the topic to something more pleasant or pressing. That’s not happening tonight.

And that was because the fourth man in the table.

It’s been years since they had someone else on their table when they are trying to relax eating and drinking and the fourth man with them wasn’t as tolerant with Spitelout’s  insinuations as he himself was and countered his brother-in-law’s claims in a brutal fashion.

Now all three of them were staring at him, waiting for Stoick to take a side on the argument.

It all started when Spitelout made a comment on how easy it is to restrain a Gronkle to make it easy for someone else to make the kill, his brother-in-law was subtle but it was still clear that this was yet another attempt to undermine Hiccup, he was ready to move the focus of the conversation to the best way to kill a downed Gronkle… he’s made a habit in the past to switch topics when the current one touched his son.

Einar on the other hand, had his own speech prepared and swiftly followed Spitelout’s words with how difficult it was to hold a Nadder and how it led to leads to the loss of food and/or cattle.

Now Spitelout was looking offended and Einar was looking as the cat that ate the canary. Personally he was feeling more than a little vindicated, it was good to see Spitelout in the same place he used to be whenever someone brought Hiccup’s missteps to attention.

Ye, he knew his nephew first kill wasn’t a _real kill_ as his brother-in-law claimed and it was done with a lot of assistance. He knew everything that happened during the raids and while Spitelout did a great job of forgetting to mention that he and other two Jorgensons held down a dragon for Snotlout to kill, not to mention Catjump Ingerman was guilty of the same memory lapse as him.

Of course they didn’t knew they weren’t the only ones witnessing the kill, Phlegma and her squad have good eyes and their job that night was to go around assisting the groups that were struggling to hold onto their food. She and Duffnut told him before his other lieutenants could give their reports.

It was tempting to expose their deception back then, he didn’t because during his time as chief the support from the Jorgenson resulted invaluable to keep his position during this years: It was thanks to them that he was able to silence his opposition when he choose Valka as his wife, if not for them he could have had a revolt on his hands; marrying the daughter traveling merchant instead of securing an alliance with the Berserker tribe had the clan heads ready to raise their arms against him, and they would have if not for the fact that Spitelout and Aldis betrothal put the Jorgensons firmly on his side, if not for that he wouldn’t be the chief right now.

He was a fool back then and retained his title not because he was a Haddock, but because of the Jorgenson’s support and a lot of luck.

He became dependent on his brother-in-law’s clan’s support for years and only now he was regaining his independence from them now that he had a more widespread support from the rest of the tribe but in the aftermath of his mistake he almost created a powerful rival for his son, one with a claim for the throne.

At least his marriage to Astrid gave him allies to weather storm that is to come, and they’ll be good allies because even with their rotten luck the Hoffersons are still deadly fighters and he hoped that would be enough for stopping an all-out war. No, he wouldn’t claim to have planned it that way, it was just a stroke of luck that he intended to exploit as much as he can, for instance, he has already given his new kin wealth and influence with Astrid’s bride price, and not only that, the farm land that now belongs to Einar is one of the best in the whole island and while Stoick never grew up anything of his own there it used to be worked by the Jorgensons… he would admit that was one of his most brilliant moves if only to himself, at first it only looked as if he was only reminding everyone how wealthy and powerful the Haddocks are, even after giving such coveted lands away he still owned a sizeable portion of the farms and allowed some farmers to work them for a reasonable price, in fact it was cheap and no one minded paying, this arrangement allowed his clan to remain at the top while allowing others to live comfortably _and_ have some savings in case a dragon burned their homes.

The Haddocks at top, followed by the Jorgensons and then a triple tie between the Hoffersons, the Ingermans and the Thorstons for the third place, the less numerous families remained at the bottom.

This would change in the next generation.

He was no fool, his grandchildren will be more Hofferson than Haddock, just the way you could never guess Snotlout has Haddock blood on his veins, even ignoring that his nephew doesn’t look anything like Aldis or him the way he acts it’s pure, undiluted Jorgenson, even a blind person would know just hearing him talk.

Stoick will do his best to be involved in the raisin of his grandchildren and teach them the essence of what it means to be a Haddock but it is a fact that they will learn to be Hoffersons without even trying and that was fine with him as long as they don’t get their infamous bad luck.

“Right, a smart Viking would realize that guarding the tribe’s food stock and cattle is our main objective during the raids” he said agreeing with his new in-law and hinting at Spitelout that he knew how Snotlout’s first kill was done and he was about to remind him why he shouldn’t try it a second time “I’m sure no one would attempt something so foolish in the future… Gobber, do you remember what my father used to do with the fools that tried that?”

The blacksmith lifted his eyebrows and took a sharp breath, good, his friend remembers!

“Aye, carrying a red hot iron rod from the forge to the Great Hall was painful to watch!”

Both Spitelout and Einar shuddered, it hasn’t been done in a long, long time and he remembers the one time his father enacted that particular punishment: The old Viking that planned the con lost the hand that he used to carry the rod that very same night!

The tribe learned a lesson that night, but almost thirty years later his brother-in-law seems to think he could hide his crime or maybe that he wouldn’t dare to punish him that way.

“Old chief was harsh…” Spitelout said, probably remembering how his predecessor used to handle things, Stoick not always agreed with his father’s choices and like his brother-in-law he often deemed them as harsh as well, but he understood the logic behind them. How to argue with results, especially when it took so long for someone to risk the punishment for that particular crime.

Stoick would never punish someone like that, but Spitelout didn’t need to know that “Aye, but he was fair!” or at least always tried to be, if his father was in his position Snotlout would have been exiled just because Spitelout thought he could replace a Haddock and while it would solve the problem it would create others, it could easily start a civil war and that would be the end of his tribe be it because of infighting, dragon fire or some other tribe noticing and conquering them for glory: The Outcasts are only two days away and have raided them in the past…

Exiling Snotlout isn’t really an option for many reasons and ideally if could get the lad to see reason he would groom him to be Hiccup’s enforcer.

If only the Jorgensons realized that they would keep some of their power he allowed them to have that way… but they are stubborn as any Hooligan and their greed was driving them.

That is why he will take that power and influence little by little while increasing the Hoffersons’s prestige, if he does it correctly his conspirators won’t notice it until they are too weak to retaliate.

“Those are the laws Spitelout,” he reminded the Jorgenson “if I had proof of someone doing that, I would have to punish the fool!” he said while looking at him in the eyes.

That will be his only warning and he hoped the message was clear enough, because kin or not he was not above the law!

“No matter who it was?” Spitelout asked with no fear in his voice and without hesitation, it wasn’t hard to guess what he was scheming.

Sighting Stoick said “No matter who it is!” the Jorgenson only got half of the message and wouldn’t repeat his crime but judging by his smile he wouldn’t be surprised if Hoark is accused of holding a dragon down for Hiccup in the future… simply changing their location to a more exposed area should avoid that.

“Speaking of hot iron” Gobber started with a smile “I can’t believe how much Hiccup’s precision work improved since last spring!” there was pride in the blacksmith’s voice, he knew how much his old friend cared for his son and when he talked about any of Hiccup’s qualities it was as if he was talking about his own flesh and blood.

Einar was smiling too, Hiccup is already family to him, and it is only natural for him to take pride on his boy’s skills.

It goes without saying that Stoick was also smiling.

“He’ll probably become a master smithy before his twentieth winter at this rate!” all four of them raised their mugs at that.

“I don’t know about that…” Stoick said, sure, he was proud of his son aptitude on his trade but… “After his seventeenth winter I’ll have to start taking him with me on my rounds” his son needs to learn how to rule, Stoick is getting older and while he would love to find the nest before stepping down he remembers his own father had similar intentions but he died during a raid while defending their people and Stoick felt utterly unprepared to take over back then. He will at least try to give Hiccup the chance he never had to learn before having to lead.

“Stoick, isn’t it a little too early for that?” the blacksmith asked.

“Maybe…” Stoick conceded, his own training started when he was twenty, but he was sure his father waited too long to start his training.

“Gobber is right Stoick, seventeen winters is too soon!” Spitelout agreed. It probably was, but he’s made his mind.

“Regardless, Hiccup will start his chief training after his seventeenth winter!” he wasn’t speaking only as Berk’s chief, but as a father and no one can tell a man how to raise his son… too soon or too young, that won’t matter as long as Hiccup gets trained!

“Stoick, I need Hiccup in the forge!” Gobber said reasonably, there was a hint of desperation on his voice as he directed everyone’s attention to his prosthesis.

“You don’t need Hiccup, Gobber. Just a new apprentice!” Einar argued.

Stoick was looking at Gobber intently, waiting for him to react, personally, he thought Einar had a good point: Sooner or later Hiccup will have to stop working at the forge.

“It isn’t that easy Einar, it’ll take years for anyone to take Hiccup’s place” Gobber was shaking his head stubbornly. He understood his friend, but this would happen sooner or later, Hiccup’s time in the forge is coming to an end.

“Sounds like you should start looking for a new apprentice soon Gobber.” As soon as he said that his old friend looked as if he found half of a worm in his apple.

“How old was Hiccup when he started?” Einar asked.

“Seven, eight winters I think” Gobber answered flatly, he clearly didn’t liked the prospect of losing Hiccup’s help and company.

“You could take Erik as your new apprentice, I’m sure I can pay your tutor fees and that way Hiccup and Erik can get to know each other!” Einar said enthusiastically. Stoick himself liked the ideal, it would get Hiccup closer to his political family and give said family more of a bite in the future. Gobber is the only blacksmith in Berk and no one wanted to risk angering him because the consequences would be dire if the smithy claimed an insult and refused to take orders from you, it would only be a matter of time before you find yourself without the tools to do your job, it would be useful if Hiccup’s brother-in-law had that kind of power!

“Your son is too young Einar, but Noselout is almost nine, he would learn much faster!” Spitelout said, of course he would want that power for his clan.

“After seeing how Hiccup took to the forge I’d say that your lad it’s already too old” Einar countered before the blacksmith could open his mouth.

“Don’t know about that…” Gobber said grooming his moustache with his fingers, clearly unhappy about losing his apprentice in the future “But Einar’s boy will be more at home at the forge than your nephew, Spitelout.” His old friend turned to look at him and smiled “Could you have Astrid to bring an extra bowl tomorrow?”

Stoick smiled back, that was one of his daughter-in-law most endearing traits, her devotion to duty, she has made habit of taking lunch to his son in the forge, of course she included a portion for herself, Gobber and even for him if he showed up, getting one more ration for her brother wouldn’t be a problem. “Of course!” he said not having to think it twice.

“I see you are making the most out of your investment, Stoick” Spitelout said, his mug raised and a smile on his face, his brother-in-law can be gracious in defeat… he would know, Stoick has given him plenty of practice over the years!

“Astrid is a good lass, and a good match for Hiccup, I don’t even know when she started taking my son’s lunch to the forge!” Stoick raised his own mug and took a sip of it “They just get along like that!”

Normally the new couples try to make the marriage work but they take every chance they get to take a break from their partners, that was simply not the case with his son and daughter-in-law, they are never, or almost never, apart from each other longer than three or four hours a day!

“Speaking of trades… what is your boy going to do, Spitelout?” he asked, at the Jorgenson, every day he would catch his nephew doing nothing around the village while he knew his son would be working in the forge or spending time with Astrid, both are important and meaningful activities, The Thorston lad would be in the forest looking for game, like today when he brought in a boar big enough to give the whole village a meal and the husky Ingerman boy was carving a beautiful bear in a small log… Snotlout was picking his nose in the market!

“What do you mean: What’s Snotlout going to do, Stoick? He’s going to be a warrior!” there was pride in Spitelout’s voice, lots of it, but that wasn’t was Stoick wanted to hear.

“I’m a warrior Spitelout, and a sentry and when I’m not in schedule to patrol I help my cousin Egil with his crops.” Einar said calmly and looked at the Jorgenson expectantly but Spitelout could only look back as if he didn’t understand why is all that the Hofferson said of any relevance.

“I think that what Einar is trying to say is: Every warrior in Berk has another job other than fighting” Gobber spoke with a seemingly infinite patience that must be the result of teaching in the arena for years.

“I know _some_ warriors must, to provide for their families!” Spitelout said with what he recognized as Jorgenson arrogance at its worse! “But not everyone _has_ to!”

**A/N: so here is the latest chapter of “The waiting game” hope you all enjoyed it and do tell me, what do you think of it? I tried to focus on the rest of the cast instead of Hiccup and Astrid…**

**See you in one or two weeks!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I don’t own HTTYD.**

Hiccup eyed the plow heating in the coals and _felt_ a set of eyes staring directly at him, watching with great interest everything he did, and it was making him feel uncomfortable.

He wasn’t even doing anything interesting! In fact, this is so boring it can be compared to watching the grass grow.

Yet, the way Erik was watching him, it was like he was back in the Kill Ring again and the forge was an angry Monstrous Nightmare that was already on fire.

“Don’t look at me, look at the plow,” He reprimanded his brother-in-law/assistant “you have to remember the color. Yellow means you can straighten it, orange means that you can re-shape it. And red means?” he said finishing with a question he knew Erik couldn’t answer.

His brother-in-law just shook his head and shrugged but he was looking expectant, curious to know what red iron can do.

“It means you must stay away!” Gobber interrupted angrily “Hiccup, it’s too soon for him to even think of forge work. Erik finish sweeping the floor.”

“But the floor is clean!” Hiccup had forgotten how much he hated sweeping the floor when he started as Gobber’s apprentice, it used to be his default task when he was younger, yes, even when the floor was clean! “You missed that spot” he said pointing at a spot in a shadow, it was clean, but when he was Erik’s age he swept plenty of clean spots!

Erik took the broomstick while complaining about already having swept all the shop twice while he looked at Gobber who was smiling like the twins after a particularly clever prank and giving him a conspirational look, wordlessly conveying a ‘well done lad!’, he smiled in return but he noticed the blacksmith did the same to him when he was on Erik’s place!

“You used to do the same thing to me!” Hiccup whispered.

“As my master did to me!”

Hiccup could only chuckle having imagined a young Gobber sweeping clean floors. It felt nice to be part of the cycle.

“Good morning!” Astrid’s voice was heard from outside the forge and soon she was walking through the threshold, she was wearing a warm winter dress, green tinted wool, there wasn’t anything really special about it but on her it looked as if it was something weaved by the Norns themselves!

“Morning!” Gobber replied pleasantry while eying the pots she brought with her.

“Hey Astrid!” Erik was much more energetic with his greetings, probably it was just an excuse to leave the broom aside though.

“Hey Rat, you missed that spot!” Astrid said smugly pointing at some random spot in on the floor.

Erik of course said “That’s not true!”

“Now that _I_ look at it closely, she’s right!” Gobber said and he almost laughed out loud as his brother-in-law crossed his arms refusing to pick the broom again to sweep the clean floor a third time with a cute pout in his face.

“Alright, if you don’t want to weep then go to the Great Hall and bring us some mead!” Gobber said pointing at the door with his prosthetic.

Erik smiled and ran to the Great Hall without hesitation.

“Smells good.” He complimented as Astrid put the hot pot in a corner of the backroom, he got closer and lifted the cover letting out a scented steam that rose to his noose. It did really smell good.

“Hungry already?!” Astrid asked him as his stomach made a rather embarrassing noise.

“A little I guess.” he admitted.

Sighing she served him a bowl of stew which he took with gusto.

“How is the Rat doing so far?” Astrid asked looking at the door her brother crossed not two minutes ago.

“He’s doing well, has a good pair of eyes but he is looking at the wrong things so far.” Gobber said taking the plow he left on the coals giving him a light glare… Oops, he forgot about it.

“Shouldn’t he be here learning?” his wife asked again and he filled his mouth to not be the one who answered to that question.

“He was here for three hours looking at us as we work and sweeping the floor,” Gobber explained calmly “That’s all he can do for now lass, Hiccup did the same.” His mentor finished pointing at him with his chin.

“That and running errands.” He agreed with Gobber “Doing errands was better than sweeping the floor four times in a row though” and he knew that by experience.

“Lass can you hand me the two pound round hammer?” the blacksmith asked gently as he was getting ready to fix the plow.

“How come you taught me this things the first day?” she asked as she handed the solicited tool to Gobber.

“You are older,” Gobber said before hitting the metal twice “you are a good assistant lass, but you don’t need to learn the arts to be a good assistant.”

“What do you mean?” she asked crossing her arms and glaring at the forge master.

“It means that there are things I won’t teach anyone that’s not becoming a blacksmith lass, and I know you don’t want to be one, do you?” Gobber said turning to face her not affected by her glare. “That and no one is paying me to teach you” he completed with a smile.

Yesterday his dad told him that after the next winter he will begin teaching him how to manage the island up close and for the first time ever he realized that he couldn’t be the blacksmith and chief at the same time! That is why Erik started to learn the craft today.

At least he won’t be starting right now and unless his brother-in-law learns enough in only one year he will still be needed in the forge and that was fine with him, he doesn’t like the idea of not working in the forge, this was his place, his refuge, his sanctuary!

‘We don’t have enough bread making Vikings… by the Gods! Gobber and me are the only smiths in Berk!’ after hearing that at some point he will have to stop being a smithy made him realize just how laughable the idea of him becoming a baker was… not to mention that bakers still have to fight dragons.

What was he thinking when he told that to his dad?

Not important right now.

He is in no hurry to become the chief, even if their plan to poison the queen works and the dragons stop raiding.

0x0x0

Astrid Hof-Haddock is not vane, she takes more pride on her physical prowess than in her appearance, but looking herself on her bronze mirror she had to admit she was looking good!

After weeks of waiting her new armor was ready.

She insisted to Hiccup he needed an armor to protect himself during the raids many times and she was overheard by Stoick and her father-in-law agreed with her and asked if she was planning to help during the attacks, after Hiccup and her answered positively the chief said he would take care of their armor.

Hiccup received a red and black dragon leather armor with padded shoulder pads, it would probably stop a Nadder’s poisonous quill and it’ll surely keep him safe from dragon fire as long as he holds his breath.

Her own armor is sky-blue in color with black shoulder pads and an armored skirt.

Both sets can be adjusted as they brow by adding extra dragon hide so they would last at least a couple of years before they must get new ones.

Taking her eyes away from the mirror she finds Hiccup moving his arms up and down, or in circles alternatively trying to wear the rigid material down to make it more flexible and comfortable, his back was turned to her and she couldn’t avoid noticing how his armor made his shoulders look broader…

“How does it feel, son?” Stoick asks Hiccup as he climbs the stairs to their loft.

“It’s a bit uncomfortable” Hiccup replied, his arms never stopped moving.

“That’s just the newness, in a couple of weeks you’ll forget it’s on you!” Stoick reassures him, that’s something to look forward at least. “And you lass?”

“It’s the same I guess.” She was still not used to having things made for her exclusively instead of receiving her cousins’ hand me downs like practically all of her maidens day to day clothes were.

“Well, you both are looking good!” Stoick reassured them with a smile.

Her father-in-law had no problems letting her fight in the raids for the moment.

“Let’s go down the Jorgensons will be here soon.”

Ah yes, tonight most of the tribe will be keeping an eye on the sky because the dragons could come back, it’s been six weeks since the last raid and according to the old folk they have attacked in the middle of the winter in years before, she has never seen an attack so soon but the Hooligans will err on the side of caution.

And that’s why they are receiving the Jorgensons, so they could wait together and this will be the first time she assumes the role of the hostess, she just doesn’t like it has to be to the Jorgensons.

Spitelout wasn’t too bad, the man tended to ignore her most of the time in the past even while trying to match her with Snotlout.

Aldis is Stoick’s sister and while she could live without her sense of humor she was always nice to her and the older woman is the last female born Haddock in Berk, and as such has offered many times to teach her a few of her new clan’s traditions, mostly recipes including haddock as an ingredient, that of course would make her the target of pregnancy related jokes… in fact she will be learning one of such recipes today.

Tonight’s problem was Snotlout.

She couldn’t remember when was the last time she talked to him, but it felt like a very short time, because she could easily go without talking to him until Ragnarok… but she can’t, because he is Hiccup’s cousin.

So far that’s her husband’s biggest flaw.

But hopefully Snotlout has accepted that she was now married and treat her as kin the way he is supposed to and keep a proper distance and give her the respect due to a married woman…

Snotlout could make things very uncomfortable for everyone, especially her, tonight depending on his behavior tonight.

She hasn’t forgotten that the last time they talked he basically wanted to bed her so he could go running to tell Hiccup hoping he would end their betrothal.

And now she has to tolerate him in her home because his mother is Hiccup’s father’s sister.

Calling her husband and Snotlout cousins would be inaccurate.

She has cousins, a lot of the actually, both inside and outside of clan Hofferson and they are a pleasant and helpful lot that are always looking out for her the way she looks out for them.

Hiccup and Snotlout are not like that.

As far as she can remember Hiccup was a sore subject for Snotlout and every time someone mentioned her husband to him he would just try to talk about something else or just said that Hiccup was not a Jorgenson.

And Hiccup… well, Hiccup would acknowledge that Snotlout is his cousin but that held no weight to him. Hiccup acted as if a cousin and a neighbor were the same thing and since the neighbor was Snotlout it wasn’t a very friendly neighbor.

The older Vikings will probably talk among themselves mostly, so her first experience as a hostess will depend on how Snotlout will behave tonight.

If Snotlout was polite, smiled, listened and refrained from talking directly to her everything would be fine.

But if the Jorgenson boy was rude, demanding and dared to hit on her she will kick him out!

0x0x0

The Jorgensons visit started pleasantly enough, with smiles and greetings, then Aldis showed her one of her recipes and shockingly it was a yak and vegetables stew that saved her from the expected ‘haddock in the belly’ jokes!

The ‘Haddock Yak Stew’ was awfully similar to her mom’s ‘Mutton Stew’… seriously, just exchange the mutton for the yak and they are the same!

It wasn’t the culinary plagiarism that was ruining the night for her though. It was Snotlout!

He was a poor guest to say the least, he spilled his stew in her table, then he asked for seconds and now her floor has stew on it too, then he asked for thirds, Gods be praised! He didn’t spilled any!

After dinner Stoick and Spitelout lit a mighty bonfire outside to keep them warm while they look up at the sky.

Haddock Hall is high enough to let her see the whole village and she could easily see at least a dozen fires like the one close to her home, three logs around it serving as seat for them while she glares at Snotlout for asking yet another mug of warm mead in the middle of one of the longest nights of the year and the look on his face tells her it’s not the mead he wants, but the satisfaction of having her leave her husband’s warm side to attend to his whims!

The worst part?

As the hostess of Haddock Hall she _must_ do her best to keep him and his family comfortable.

“Want me to go this time?” Hiccup whispered on her ear.

‘Gods that would be so nice!’ she thought to herself, but allowing that would be like admitting defeat!

Shaking her head she leaves Hiccup’s side with her wolf fur covering her and she grabs the jar from its spot near the fire and fills his mug before putting the jar back on its spot before returning to her husband’s side who was waiting for her with an arm up and ready to embrace her.

She welcomes the warm arm and she seeks more of his warmth resting her head on his shoulder and then Hiccup involves her with both arms covering both of them with his large bear fur.

“Awww! They are so cute!” Aldis said after noticing their closeness, she blushed lightly at the other woman endearing smile, it was a bit embarrassing for her to have anyone seeing her like that.

She was about to take her head out of Hiccup’s shoulder when she noticed Snotlout was glaring at her and Hiccup… normally she wouldn’t care if she has done something to upset the young Jorgenson but considering that Snotlout was on his seventh mug of mead when the rest of them only had three she decided to keep doing whatever she was doing that was upsetting him since she couldn’t really call Snotlout out on his rude behavior, so she just stayed still while thinking of what was exactly bothering her _guest_.

Maybe it was the mead? No, that couldn’t be, the fire kept it nice and warm. Was it because of her indifference? As much as she would like to think it is, Snotlout has proven his skull to be top thick to understand she has no interest on him at all.

When the young Jorgenson eyes shifted to her Husband and his glare intensified she realized what was bothering her _honored guest._

It was not the mead or her attitude towards him, no! What is bothering him is the fact that Hiccup is embracing her and she allows it when she rejected every attempt he made for years.

Well, if that’s the case…

Astrid maneuvered her body until she is comfortably sitting on Hiccup’s lap with his arms still enveloping her. ‘Gods he is warm.’ she thinks as she rests her head on his shoulder again.

Her boldness is rewarded with more than just her husband’s warmth but also with another, more intense glare from Snotlout that last only for an instant as he turned his head to the side to avoid looking at them at the same time his mother let out another endearing “Awww!”

It wasn’t quite like punching him in the face, but it felt just as good.

0x0x0

It was past noon and Hiccup was still in the forge and he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, so he will not be visiting Toothless today, but he knew the winged reptile would be fine, his prosthetic tail was in perfect conditions after fixing it two weeks ago when the dragon was unable to take off due to a frozen gear.

He used some boar grease to protect the fin’s mobile parts from the nearly frozen water that can be found everywhere during winter, it has been working well so far.

Gobber was checking a couple of catapults on the other side of the island with Erik, his mentor was teaching his brother-in-law to read and write as it was something of a necessity due to the multiple things they have to keep track of, including the ownership of many weapons they worked with.

Erik begrudgingly accepted he had to learn but wasn’t really putting much effort into it until their mentor pointed out you have to know how to write if you ever wanted to engrave blessings into a weapon, but as exciting as that sounds he will probably end up using that knowledge to keep track of the forge’s multiple less exciting jobs.

It was weird to be left alone in the shop and not being able to work on his own projects because he has to tend to the costumers.

Like right now.

He was sharpening Dogscales’ handsaw while he and Sven waited outside making small talk with him while waiting, it was strangely comfortable to him, and he never felt that way while in dragon training with his peers.

However sharing a talk about relevant village matters with two of his squad mates he felt at home.

“I’m telling you, there is no way Gruffnut and Hazel are really doing it! Gruff is just boasting!”

“I don’t know about it, I mean, the two of them were sitting awfully close the other day”

“Nah, I bet that was just Gruffnut begging!”

Ok… maybe they were just gossiping close to the forge, but he still felt comfortable.

 “Who’s saying that by the way?” Hiccup asked, because he doubted either of the two would start a rumor like that, spread it? Sure, start it? Not likely.

“I heard it from dad, who heard it from Hakon Ardvinson” Sven said.

“I heard it in the Great Hall from some Jorgensons” Dogscales said shrugging, it was no wonder why he thought it wasn’t true.

“And you Hiccup?” Sven asked him.

“I heard it from Sven Larson and Dogscales Ingerman at the forge!” he sassed them because in truth he just heard it from them and the entire time they have been talking about it he was just acting as if he already knew about it.

“Seriously!?” Dogscales asked in disbelief, he just nodded in return.

“Hiccup, I know that you just married, but you really shouldn’t spend all of your time in bed!” Sven told him, half joking half serious.

Dogscales snorted and turned to Sven and said “A Viking as _pure_ as you shouldn’t talk like that” his voice meant business but from what he could see of his face he knew he was just kidding. Hoark and he always made fun of Sven about his unmarried status whenever he tried to be a smartass, probably because Sven was the only one of them that has never been married.

“I’m not _pure!_ ” Sven denied while blushing, his _purity_ was like a big red button asking to be pressed.

“Uh-hu” he was surprised by the sound of his own voice joining Dogscales’ in his taunt.

“What you do with your hands doesn’t count, just to be clear!” Dogscales said making Sven blush some more and look at him asking for help.

And while he liked Sven well enough as a friend teasing him was just too fun to stop!

“No matter how much you love your hand, it doesn’t count” he agreed with as much as a serious face as he could while doing his best not to laugh as Sven’s mouth formed an “o” shape and the he couldn’t resist it anymore and laughed at the older Viking look of betrayal and he was soon joined by Dogscales.

It was ironic to think that while women took pride upon their purity going as far as wearing a kransen to show it off, men did everything in their power to hide it… but wedlock worked both ways, so if unmarried women were considered _pure_ by default the same goes for unmarried men. And no amount of denial changed that fact.

There were always rumors of course, the woman would deny it and the man would walk around with his head held high until he was cornered by the girl’s father, brothers, uncles, cousins… basically her entire clan, and be forced to make an offer or tell everyone the rumor was fake.

“Very funny!” Sven said while resting his shoulder on the forge’s wall, but he clearly thought it wasn’t funny at all.

“Yes, it is!” a new voice joined them, Hoark must have heard the whole thing and he looked like he was trying his best to not laugh. All three of the younger Vikings greeted their squad leader simply by nodding their heads towards him, Sven still sulking.

“Don’t be like that lad, from what you’ve told me you’ll have a bride price ready by the end of the spring!” Hoark said and that made Sven smile again.

“If you’re lucky you could be marrying this fall then!” Dogscales added approving the news and improving the Larson mood even further.

“So, whose going be your bride?” Hiccup asked wanting to know, because as far as he remembers Sven has never talked about any girl in particular.

Sven shrugged “I don’t know, Dad will find someone for me” the way he said that it was as if that was irrelevant.

“Don’t you have a girl you like?” he asked again, because he always knew he wanted Astrid, and Sven not even caring was strange to him.

“It’s not like that Hiccup!” Sven said with nostalgia in his voice and an expression to match it “It’s just that that girl is already married.” The way he said it, it was obvious he has long since accepted it.

Hiccup really didn’t knew what to say to that, fortunately he didn’t had to say anything because a rather big snowball rolled over Hoark in that precise moment.

Unexpected.

0x0x0

‘That felt so good!’

Like stretching after sitting the whole day weaving!

Sure it was rather childish and, admittedly, uninspired but after weeks without pranking even that oversized snowball was rewarding and she got the big one too!

From behind her cover she could see the group of Vikings helping Hoark to get on his feet while laughing. Now she only has to get out of there before they follow the snowball’s track right back to her!

She could have planned that better in hindsight, but she couldn’t stop herself when that bolt of inspiration had hit her! ‘Hello, Loki? A little help here please!’ Ruffnut thought desperately, this would be the first time she was caught pranking alone!

Such a shame, her first prank as an adult and she’ll be caught like she was five years old.

‘Oh, they are getting close’ she thought as she could hear their steps getting closer and closer, also, let’s not forget their voices. Her victim was angry and the witnesses were still laughing.

She could try to make a run for it but that would expose her and knowing Hoark he wouldn’t even bother chasing her and once he knows it was her he would go directly to her dad!

And if her dad had time to let his anger boil… well he was scary when angered.

She could always try to make an excuse, it must be something believable like…!

“There she is!” too late, they’ve found her!

“Were you looking for me Hoark?” a calm voice, definitely not her own came from behind her… it was familiar.

“No Lady Astrid, I was looking for the one that threw that a snowball at me!” Hoark said pointing directly at her.

“Oh, did someone did that to you?!” Astrid said sounding surprised.

‘Were did she came from?’ Ruffnut never noticed she was close by.

Hoark looked even angrier than before, the two younger Vikings with him took a couple of steps away from him “It was her!” he said angrily accusing her with his finger “The tracks guided us to her!”

“It must have been someone else, because Ruff was with me the whole time and she did no such a thing!” Ruffnut hid her surprise the best she could because Astrid was lying through all her teeth and they both knew it. “Whoever did that must be long gone now “Astrid added leaving no room to argue.

“I see…” Hoark didn’t looked happy about having to let her go without even a reprimand because no matter how convincingly her friend lied, the evidence was damning her.

“We’ll keep looking for the rascal then!” one of the younger Vikings with Hoark said, but his body language was screaming that he knew it was her! His sassy smile also told her he didn’t cared and possibly thought it was funny even.

The three older Vikings left and she turned to her friend/savior and they both laughed spontaneously once they were sure no one would hear them.

“I can’t believe that worked, thanks Astrid!” Ruffnut said not believing how lucky she was.

“I can’t believe it either!” Astrid said before raising an eyebrow “Really!? A big snowball, what are you ten?” and she didn’t seemed so amused anymore.

“I was bored!” she tried to explain, truth to be told, she felt silly right now, no one was supposed to know she was reduced to that!

Astrid took her arm and started dragging her towards Haddock Hall, which was the last place she wanted to go after playing a prank “Where are we going!?” she asked hipping to be released or be wrong about her assumption.

“To my place, the least you can do after I saved you is keep me company” Astrid said without letting her go.

Ruffnut tried to protest because she would really be in trouble if she doesn’t go home soon and the young wife would be the cause of her problems instead of the solution to them but before she knew it she was in the chief’s hut, or as her friend so casually called it: My place.

Astrid grabbed a couple of mugs and filled them with mead for them before sitting in a chair and motioned for her to do the same as she tool a cloth she had been weaving “I can’t believe you are still playing those childish pranks Ruffnut, didn’t you kill a dragon?” her friend asked her accusingly.

A small feline choose that moment to rub on her legs purring, it looked like the little fur-ball recognized her, it was nice to know the little fellow still remembered her.

“You should really focus on what’s important” Astrid accused her again.

“And what’s important Astrid?” Ruffnut aggressively as she bent to pick the cat, she really wasn’t in the best mood today “Keeping the hut clean? Maybe cooking a good meal? Or maybe it is weaving?” she said while pointing with her chin at the young wife that was sitting and weaving “No, that’s not either… learning to be a good wife? Ohhh, I know, it’s bearing children!”

The sound of cloth being ripped was like a bucket of water on the fire of her anger and at the same time it was the spark that ignited the other girl’s anger and then she looked at the damage it caused, it would take a few hours to fix the damage done and she knew it.

“Our parents war is ours now Ruffnut! I told that to Hiccup but I should have told that to you instead. You are playing stupid pranks on our warriors instead of training!” Astrid said in retaliation before lifting the cloth she was weaving to inspect it and let out a silent curse, she fished thread and a needle to fix it.

Ruffnut said nothing for a while and only watched as Astrid sewed and before long she took a mass of wool and a spinner and got herself to work noticing that her friend was doing this alone when from her experience it was usually done in groups to keep it from being too monotonous, she knows, she did this earlier in the week with her mom, aunts and cousins. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to go overboard like that, but it’s not like I have the time to train either” she tried to extend the olive branch by apologizing _and_ helping Astrid.

Her friend sighed and smiled at her “You don’t have time to train?”

“No, mom keeps me busy all day, with… stuff” she said not wanting to say it out loud, but her day to day activities were probably the same as Astrid’s… except for the child bearing inducing ones of course.

“Stuff?” Astrid asked confused and Ruffnut cursed her luck. She really didn’t want to give her friend a detailed description of her days.

“Yes, stuff” Ruffnut said trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Like…?” Astrid said moving her arms as if to point at their surroundings, in this case, Haddock Hall.

“Yes, that kind of stuff” she said covering her eyes with her hands, her friend got her there and there was no hiding it!

“Sounds like your mom is training you to…” Astrid paused for a second as if she just realized something and Ruffnut could guess what it was if she cared to try “Oh”

Ruffnut just shook her head before the young wife could as if she was marrying or something else along that line. “No, I’m not marrying, I don’t even have a suitor!” nor did she wanted one to begin with.

“Then why aren’t you training? Won’t your dad let you fight in the raids?”

“Dad’s going to let me, but he doesn’t have time to train with me and mom doesn’t want me training, she’d rather have me spinning or cooking or something!” it was rather humiliating to admit her circumstances to her friend because she was being treated as a child instead of the adult she supposedly was! Astrid was right, she killed a dragon! She should be allowed more freedom but she was kept in a tight leash.

“Why do you need your dad with you to train? I’m sure you can do it alone, right?” Astrid asked because her situation still didn’t made sense to her.

“Because he thinks I’ll try to prank someone if he is not there!” she admitted guiltily and couldn’t help but let a bitter laugh escape her lips. Her dad had been right all along!

“I wonder why?!” Astrid asked sarcastically. “But then how come he lets your brother wander in the forest alone all day?”

“Because the muttonhead likes setting traps, it’s as if he thinks he is playing pranks on the animals or something!” it was true that her twin has been getting some game out of the forest, but she knows for a fact that he has also been trying to prank his fellow hunters, Hel! He even admitting to be planning a prank for Snotlout during dinner last night… and her dad laughed at the idea!

It was just so unfair!

“Uh-hu that doesn’t seem fair at all,” Astrid said, it was nice to know she was not the only one that thought like that “but do you still want to train or would you just go around pranking the villagers?”

Now that was a good question… “I would train, but if I have the chance to prank someone…” she didn’t finished her phrase because she knew Astrid already understood what she meant and the new Haddock didn’t looked happy about it, so she clarified “Hey, it’s not like I’d go around looking for people to prank, but if the fall asleep within yaks hit throwing range… well” she completed her statement by moving her arm in throwing motions.

Astrid gave her a deadpanned look and sighed “I guess that’s the best I’ll get out of you,” then she smiled at her “do you want to go train for a bit?”

By the Gods she wanted to! “But I don’t have a weapon on me right now” what a waste, a chance to train for the first time in weeks presents itself and she can’t even take advantage of it!

“I can lend you one if you want!” Astrid offered pointing at a wall were a few weapons were hanging, there was a war hammer above the head of a dragon she’s never seen before, then there was a sword above a Nadder’s head, next to them there was a bow and a couple of arrows , an axe and then there was a Gronkle’s head and a spear

All the weapons were engraved and decorated and they all were dented and deteriorated by usage. Obviously they were not meant to be used in combat again… but if Astrid was offering to borrow her one, who was she to refuse?

“A spear would be nice” she said eying the one on the wall.

“Alright, wait here” Astrid said going upstairs instead of just taking the weapons on the wall.

She stood up and walked closer to the spear she wanted, it was curiously decorated with a green and red cloth bellow the tip, the tip itself was dented and bent now that she got a better look at it, the shaft was carved and there was some dried weed wrapped on its butt.

“Not that one, that’s Hiccup’s, the one he killed the Monstrous Nightmare with.” Astrid said from the loft’s threshold holding another spear and she could see an axe strapped on her back.

That explained why the tip’s poor condition at least “This spear killed a Monstrous Nightmare in one hit?!” that was quite the feat in her opinion.

“Yeah, the tip entered through the eye and hit the back of the skull!” Astrid said sparking her desire to train even more. She favored spears like Hiccup, but she certainly couldn’t pull such a masterful thrust right now, but maybe in the future…

Turning around she took the spear Astrid was offering her and said “Let’s go!” she would make a good use of this chance!

As they were opening the door to go outside they heard someone screaming at top of his lungs “TUFFNUT WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!” and from the great hall Snotlout was hanging from his left foot on the side of the Great Hall while her twin was laughing his ass off.

**A/N: This was another winter chapter and as you can see things are mostly calm but the villagers are still keeping an eye on the sky.**

**So what do you think of Ruffnut’s scene?**

**R &R.**


	21. Chapter 21

**I don’t own HTTYD.**

It was snowing outside, at least he was inside the Great Hall and has a warm bowl of fish stew to eat.

He could be closer the heart, but the chief is there with other Vikings deciding what punishment Tuffnut should receive for pranking Snotlout and he wants no part in that even if he was curious to know what the sentence will be.

Fishlegs, like every Hooligan knows what happened this afternoon just outside this place when Tuffnut hung Snotlout from the Great Hall’s wall. Spitelout was furious and claimed it to be an attack on his heir and is asking for a geld to be paid to him while Ticknut was insisting Snotlout’s clumsiness coasted his son the chance to catch the creature that apparently has been stealing from the Great Hall kitchens. Bread crumbs and some small bones on the spot supported the Thorstons claims about some animal somehow stealing their food.

But Spitelout was not hearing any of it, he was insisting that Tuffnut merely planted such evidence on the spot to justify his _horrible prank_ on Snotlout, that was possible but the only reason the matter wasn’t dropped just yet was because Snotlout is chief Stoick’s nephew…

The whole thing seemed to be way out of proportion in his opinion, it was just a harmless prank and in the end no one got hurt or anything and if someone asked him what he believed he would have to say that Tuffnut was really hunting something close to the Great Hall because what business did anyone have that far from the entrance?

But his opinion wasn’t relevant enough to be asked.

The ones trying to solve the problem were the clan-heads, the elder, the chief and Hiccup. Hiccup looked so out of place there that it was almost funny because it was clear that he’d rather not be there at all and with how Mildew was glaring at him he couldn’t really blame him.

From his vantage point he could see Spitelout and Ticknut shaking their hands and he could guess that things didn’t went the Jorgensons way since Snotlout’s dad’s scowl was visible even from where he was sitting.

Things mustn’t have turned the way the Jorgensons wanted if they are angry like that.

His dad called one of his cousins to know the result of the conflict “Stoick won’t punish the Thorston lad, he says the trap was out of everyone’s way and it must have been just an accident.”

‘Well that’s true, but then how did Snotlout fell on it?’ he eyed the chief’s table where the Jorgensons and the Haddocks were currently sitting, and it was apparent that they were trying to change Stoick’s verdict with the way Spitelout was speaking one didn’t even needed to be able to read lips to figure that out, Snotlout seemed to be trying to bore a hole in Hiccup’s head with his glare but if he was reading things correctly with the way Stoick constantly shook his head and how Hiccup ignored Snotlout in favor of Astrid nothing will change about it.

“I can’t believe Stoick will not do something about this!” his dad said, his voice reflected how much he disliked the fact that Tuffnut was basically getting away with a prank “We all know what’s to become of those two, better to show the Thorston lad he can’t go around like that.”

Tuffnut will be a farmer and/or a hunter, that meant he won’t have too influence in the future while Snotlout… well, his dad thinks he will go _far_ , and with _far_ he means he will become the next chief.

“Aye, but what was that lad doing all the way there?” his cousin asked earning a glare from his father, sighing Dogscales Ingerman just left and sat with his parents on their table.

“Tell me son, how is that bear going?” his dad asks and he frowned.

“I’ll finish it tomorrow dad, but I’ve never seen a bear alive so…” basically he had no idea if it’s good or not.

“Don’t worry about that son, Liplout has never seen a bear alive either!” wasn’t that a relief? So unless someone alerted his costumer he would be none the wiser? Funny, he was trying his best to recreate the image based on a sketch he found in a book and the few bear pelts he’s seen around the village or when merchant Johann comes to trade. “You keep working, I have already spoken with Toelout, and he’ll wait for you a couple of years.”

“For what?” he had to ask, he had no idea what his dad was talking about.

“To form a contract of course, he has a daughter…” his dad paused closing his eyes as he often does when he is making an effort to remember something “Dotta, I think she will be a good match for you!” his dad patted his back with a smile.

“Oh!” well, at least he knows who he’ll marry.

0x0x0

He woke up to the sound of horns that served as the village alarms.

It took him just a couple of seconds to understand that they were under attack, Astrid was marginally faster than him to realized it and that they must get out of bed to help their tribe but unfortunately due to their sleeping arrangements they fell to the floor in an attempt to disentangle their limbs as fast as possible.

In a hurry he puts on his leggings on while Astrid goes for his dragon leather armor to practically shove it down his head and then helped him secure it with the leather strips, the thing still feels tight and restrictive but not as much as the first time he put it on, shoving his feet on his boots he runs to the door and takes the spear he keeps on its side, he turns around to see his wife putting her own armor on “Be careful!” he says before going down the stairs three steps at a time.

His dad is not in the hut anymore, years and years of practice have guaranteed Stoick the Vast could get out of bed and be ready for combat in the blink of an eye.

Running through the dark and cold night makes breathing difficult, and the snow doesn’t makes things any easier but making the trip to Toothless cove and back almost daily and always in a hurry has served as a wonderful training for moving in the snow. Midway to the new warehouse he must protect the torches are lit, right on time to let him see and avoid a fellow Hooligan, the dragons were almost upon them and he can see them getting free shots at the building doors and some of the fastest Vikings trying to shut them down.

When he gets to his new place Hoark and Dogscales are already there bashing their shields with their weapons and screaming to throw the aim of the reptiles off, he soon joins with his own voice.

The warehouse the now protect is closer to the village’s center and it’s bigger than the other one and hey, you can see the Great Hall from here!

Soon the dragons got tired of the noise and started firing at them en mase, there was a total of five dragons trying to get into their building and all of them aimed at Hoark forcing him to jump aside or be burned alive by a lucky shot.

The smell of rotten fish alerted him they were being covered by a thick cloud of Zippleback gas and taking a look around he found a two headed dragon hiding one of the building’s walls “Zippleback!” he yelled to alert his comrades as he ran at the deadly dragon hoping to stun it with the noise and force it back into the air before it could blow them up.

Luck was on his side tonight and a snowball hit the head in charge of sparking the gas making it look away and giving him a perfect shot to take care of one of the heads… cutting off one of its heads wouldn’t kill it, at least not immediately according to his dad, but it’ll guarantee it’ll be killed in the next minute or two because the dragon will be unable to take flight… or be able to defend itself properly. He doesn’t _want_ to kill the dragon, but there is a cloud of explosive gas covering Dogscales, Hoar and himself… “AHHHH!!” with a scream Hiccup swing the spear just the way Astrid taught him a few weeks back, all his might was focused on wielding the weapon that had just enough length to reach his foe with its tip, it cuts through the left neck incapacitating or _killing_ the head and making the surviving one scream in agony for a couple of seconds.

The beast tried to retaliate but the way it moved was not that different to a babe learning to walk and then it was over when Sven jumped at the reptile’s second head with his axe over his head and his arms fully extended.

“Move! Move! Move!” Hoark ordered and he complied jumping behind the now dead dragon where his squad mate was already taking cover and an instant later the deadly gas was ignited and the sound of an explosion deafened him for what was probably the longest minute of his life and all he could do was look around frantically looking for another dragon, a fire shot a poisonous quill to dodge or an ally to warn!

‘Gods I hate raids!’

0x0x0

There are a few children around the well, just looking at them work, since its winter and her class just graduated some of those children will be taking their place in the Fire Brigade next spring and she remembers that she herself was once in their place, eagerly watching the teens work, memorizing how they moved, how the talked, how they ran. She thought that every detail mattered and she was convinced that she would miss a crucial detail the moment she blinked.

She was twelve back then… How was she supposed to know the teens weren’t really paying much attention because it was something they’ve done thousands of times over the years?

She wanted to say that what she did was complicated but at this point her body just knows what to do without really thinking about it and she barely has to pay any mind to what she is doing.

“It’s kind of quiet tonight” Ruffnut said sounding rather just as bored as her.

“Yeah, it’s as if not may dragons wanted to visit today” Tuffnut agreed.

“I’m not complaining” Fishlegs said with a smile, she had to agree with him, less dragons means less fire and less food loss, a true win-win situation.

The only one affected by the children’s presence was Gustav who was enjoying himself immensely, filling buckets and pretending to keep an eye on the village to spy on his friends, after thaw he will be the most experienced member in the Fire Brigade… she just hopped that the distinction wouldn’t swell his ego too much, his head is big enough as it is!

“The warriors are holding well” she commented after they filled every bucket they had available, they haven’t been called to extinguish any fire yet and have been standing idle for a few minutes. She was feeling restless for some reason, well, more restless than usual. Normally they would be running all over the village putting off the fires and watching the how the warriors were doing while they were at it and that was kind of reassuring on its own way… because even if watching your kin and neighbors risk their lives was bad, it was better than not knowing if they were alive or not.

She hasn’t forgotten the images of her dad’s shield being engulfed by fire or Hiccup jumping out of dangers she had to see a few weeks back.

Astrid almost wanted for something to catch on fire just so she could make sure they are alive and well.

“FIRE!”

She was not happy about it but she eagerly grabbed two snow-filled buckets and ran towards the fire with the other members of the Fire Brigade right behind her.

However what started as a slow night soon become a very agitated night because soon there were more and more cries for help as fire spread around the village and while running from fire to fire she managed to get glimpses of what was happening in the village… it was pure chaos.

How else would you describe it? A Viking swinging his axe to keep a Nadder at bay only to see the axe-head fly from its handle leaving a stunned warrior barely lifting his shield in time to block a barrage of quills? Or watching another Hooligan actually slashing a Gronkle without cutting it at all, not even leaving a mark on the think hide of the flying boulder?

It was chaos and she could only watch as her tribe mates had to hastily retreat or be maimed and looking up to see a few Nadders escaping with sheep on their claws and a Monstrous Nightmare with a bull yak slightly behind, it was as if Loki himself was aiding the dragons tonight!

“AARRRGGGG!” a scream of pain made her look bellow and she could see the consequences of being too slow as a fellow Viking just got his leg crushed under a Gronkle’s tail, she could even see the broken bone piercing the leg’s flesh…

0x0x0

It had been such a good year until tonight.

But now… they lost food, lots of food actually, much more than what they were prepared to lose.

They’ll have to ration the food by giving smaller meals at the Great Hall, and for sure they’ll have to take some food from those with larger storages of food like himself, he will see that at least half of his family’s reserves be given to the Great Hall’s kitchens.

Lost food wasn’t even the worst thing to happen today, not when he could hear the screams of a fellow Hooligan who was losing his leg: Fishfeather Ingerman is his name and taking off the crushed limb was mercy in his eyes, at least he will keep his knee, if Gobber was to be believed that made a difference.

“ARRGG!” mead and herbs wouldn’t dull the pain of Inga’s saw cutting through bone and flesh as he could hear the man’s pain as if he was right next to him instead of outside the Great Hall.

In the sky the last of the devils fly back to their nest leaving him in despair and whishing he had wings of his own to pursue and punish them by crushing their wings or tails the way they crushed Fishfeather’s leg.

How did they lost so much to such a small raid?

This was surely the job of Loki, it had to be!

But no one will be blaming the Liesmith when he was an easier target. This was the bitter side of leadership, to always have to share your victories and having to carry the weight of the defeats alone.

His warriors begin to gather as his lieutenants tell him exactly how bad things are… well they are bad enough to say that they won’t survive another raid like this.

His people are, understandably, upset and Mildew’s infuriating voice making their complaints for them was like fuel to fire.

“Spears breaking like twigs, swords as dull as clubs, head-less axes, WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR WEAPONS?! WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF THEM!?”

Stoick would like to know himself, his own spare war hammer’s handle broke when he hit a Gronkle.

“It was Hiccup’s job!” someone yelled in the crowd. But it couldn’t be… Hiccup never messed up as a blacksmith before, and while it was true that fixing their armory’s weapons was part of his son’s duties he couldn’t picture him doing such a poor job, not when just a few days ago Gobber was praising his skill in the trade, that could only mean he was doing well!

It didn’t took long for the crowd to single out Hiccup throwing him in the space between them, his son fell to the ground by the sheer force of the push, and was saved from further aggression by Hoark and his men, they were doing their best to keep the other Vikings away from Hiccup at the moment and he was grateful for it, all the other Vikings nearby looked like they were ready to stone him like a criminal!

“THE RUNT!” Mildew’s voice once again dominated any other sound just by how angry he seemed to be and there was also the way he said it, as if it was to be expected for his son to be the cause of something like this, and that seemed to agitate the crowd even more.

“… should have been thrown to the sea!”

“Good for nothing twig!”

“Exiled!”

This was getting out of control fast, and at this rate he will have to punish Hiccup in some way or he will lose face with the tribe, and then be in a less favorable position to help him later.

Astrid broke away from the crowd and stood beside his son, her face was hard and determined as she took his hand on her own and together they turned to face the crowd.

Matching them was a fluke really, but he got his clan a jewel with that lass.

“OF COURSE, HIS WENCH COMES TO HIM, I BET SHE’S WHY HE MESSED UP WITH THE WEAPONS!”

And that was enough out of Mildew tonight, and the Gods and Gobber agreed with him because the blacksmith punched the instigating old man right in the jaw making him fall and shut up.

“Are you done insulting me Mildew?” the master blacksmith stood right there looking down at the council’s elder.

“You can’t strike me, I’m the Elder!” Mildew’s indignation was palpable through his voice.

The rest of the Vikings were silenced by the punch as well, and they listened with rapt attention after their blacksmith claimed an insult from the elder. Stoick for his part couldn’t be happier, his friend’s help is appreciated.

“I’m this village Master Blacksmith, and you cannot insult me!” Gobber replied spiting at the ground to emphasize his point.

“Have you finally gone mad boy-lover?!” Mildew asked with disdain as he stood up to face the two limbed Viking.

“Goat-fucker you claim that I’m stupid enough to not check the job of a lad that just married a lovely lass!” Gobber said while pointing Hiccup and Astrid with his flesh and bone arm “I’ve been breathing on Hiccup’s neck picking up his slack ever since he got married, and he didn’t messed up that bad to begin with…” Gobber took a step closer to the elder invading his personal space but the elder didn’t stepped back “Nothing worse than forgetting something in the coals or making stuff for her with scrap iron!”

“Well, this is someone’s fault! There is a leg-less man in the Great Hall right now because someone messed up!” Gobber pushed Mildew back after hearing this “You can’t do that to me!”

“This is why a hermit shouldn’t be allowed in the council, you don’t know Yak-shit of what’s going on in the village Mildew!” Einar Hofferson stepped in flanking the elder “And if you ever hear you call my daughter a wench again I’ll be the one claiming insult. Is that clear!”

“You’ll have to race me for that Einar, Astrid is a Haddock now!” he said, and he truly will, the lass will be a fine chieftess one day, her honor cannot be questioned.

“So now you know better than our ancestors’ _lad_?” Mildew spat the last word, it was clear that he wouldn’t allow to have his place in the council be put in doubt “If it wasn’t the runt then whose fault is it?”

Much like Hiccup before two other Vikings were pushed to the front. The Thorston twins.

**A/N: Aaaand cut!**

**I know many didn’t wanted Snotlout’s plot to succeed but it did and now someone is going to suffer the consequences of it… and it won’t be Snotlout.**

**Hiccup was lucky to have such a strong support network, but what will happen to the twins?**

 


	22. Chapter 22

**I DON’T OWN HTTYD.**

After a good prank everyone will be laughing, the prankster, the witnesses and even the victim if it was done correctly.

A prank main purpose is to amuse the prankster so as long as the victim isn’t badly hurt the prank should still be considered good as long as the pranksters are enjoying themselves. Entertaining the more often than not will result in a lesser punishment if caught.

The punishment for a prank usually depends on the rank of the victim within the tribe’s hierarchy, its current social standing and the amount of collateral damage product of the prank.

That is what Tuffnut and his twin Ruffnut have figured out during the course of their lives. i.e. throwing a handful of manure at a person that was mean to their mom would result in a slap in the back of their hands compared to stealing paint and _decorating_ the chief’s hut that would result in not only having to clean up the mess but also in skipping meals and other disciplinary measures.

However there are certain things that they learned are simply off-limit, two in particular should never be used as a prank tool, one of those things is food, spilling any amount of food in their parent’s hut always resulted in a long and boring lecture if the amount of food wasted was minor, and physical punishment awaited if their dad even suspected it was done intentionally. One simply does not waste food in Berk.

The second thing out of limits are weapons, this was merely common sense even for them, the potential consequences of messing with weapons are simply too… permanent to even consider using an axe to prank someone, Vikings limb’s do not grow back and while the dead can raise back having a draughr coming after them to extract vengeance upon them isn’t worth any prank, even hiding a dagger from its owner was not acceptable for them.

So why?

Why were his sister and he immediately blamed for tonight’s tragedies?

“I should have known it!” Mildew said walking closer to them.

“It wasn’t us!” Ruffnut said interrupting the old man “We didn…!”

“You think we’re going to believe you?” someone in the crowd asked.

Everyone was so angry, he could see a few Vikings with tears in their eyes while holding their broken weapons up, as if daring them to deny it was them who messed with the village’s armory.

“It’s the truth!” he yelled urgently “When would we have had the time!” he was in the forest practically from dawn to dusk and Ruffnut was always with their mom!

“I always knew they were crazy, there is no other explanation!” Mildew said right after he spoke, as if what he just said in their defense was never heard because the words of the elder started something among the warriors, they murmured to each other things like: “They never seemed sane to begin with!” or “Must be from their mother’s side of the family” and the worst of them “Tie them to a raft and cast them away before it spreads!”.

“What will you do with them Stoick? You know what tradition demands!” Mildew spoke again and everyone’s gaze instantly was fixed on the chief, Ruffnut and he included.

“We didn’t do it!” his sister repeated but behind them the tribe just made noises of disbelief, no one seemed to doubt they did it.

“If they say they didn’t do it then I believe them!” his dad shouted as he and their great-uncle Oldnut and a few of their cousins marched up to speak with the chief but the rest of the tribe was still convinced they were guilty.

“Who else could have been?” the elder asked again, he had no idea of who could have done such a thing, and with that many weapons they  didn’t had the time to set something like this into motion even if they had planned it, which they didn’t! “Stoick give us the sentence already!”

“We would never touch the armory!” Tuffnut yelled, yes, they were pranksters but they have at least that much common sense! He looked around hoping someone would believe him, but he could not find anyone outside of their clan. Was this it?

Will they be tied to a boat and sent to wander into Njord domains until they died of thirst or hunger?

“It wasn’t them!” someone, not their dad, or their clan-head said: It was Astrid, she didn’t said it loud enough to be heard by everyone, she was talking to Hiccup as if she was trying to convince him of their innocence, things were not looking good but at least someone believed them.

“You know what the tradition is!” Mildew said turning to face the crowd “We all know!” everyone seemed to agree and he heard someone say: “Let’s not waste any more food in them!”

“ENOUGH!” the chief’s voice silenced everyone and he stared directly at them, and they felt the weight of his gaze on them, never before Stoick looked so _vast_ as in that very moment. “Did someone saw them near the armory!? The chief asked but the silence remained for a few more seconds.

“They must have done it in the…!” Mildew tried to speak but couldn’t finish his statement, the chief wouldn’t listen to another word out of the elder’s mouth!

“You’ve said more than enough already Mildew!” the chief said while staring down at the belligerent elder.

“It could only have been them!” Mildew shouted refusing to back down.

“I heard you the first time old-man, but I think you are going deaf, I said: I’ve had enough out of you!” It was clear that the chief was running out of patience and that want good for his sister and him.

“I’m the Elder!” Mildew shouted in rage and Tuffnut thought he forgot exactly to who he was talking when he said “How dare you?!”

“You may be the elder, but let me remind you in case you’ve forgotten that I am the Chief!” as high in the tribe’s hierarchy as Mildew is, there is no denying that Stoick is at the top of it, the elder backed down but he wasn’t happy “Now, who saw them near the armory?” the chief repeated his question. No one replied and that gave him hopes to escape unfair punishment, because they didn’t do it!

“It couldn’t have been them Stoick” grand-uncle Oldnut said “the girl is with her mother all day and we all know the lad is always bringing game from the forest!” That was correct, and he was happy his dad always made him parade anything he brought with him in the market.

“They could have done it in the night, it wouldn’t be the first time!” someone said and a great many people agreed with him.

“Aye! If it wasn’t Hiccup then they are the only ones left to blame!” another man shouted.

“But it wasn’t us!” he yelled again, getting tired of being blamed for something so horrible.

“And no one here can even say they saw them close to the armory!” their dad insisted much to his relief.

“How about we ask inside the Great Hall?” Mildew asked again, challenging the chief to try and keep him from speaking again.

There are a lot of people still inside the Great Hall, non-trained women, children and those too old or too injured to fight.

Reluctantly Stoick sent Spitelout inside to ask the rest of the tribe but Tuffnut was confident, no one could have seen them because they haven’t gone close to the armory-

A couple of minutes later the chief’s in-law emerged with a woman at his side Vigdis Ingerman and they talked to the chief in whispers “Vigdis here saw them entering the armory a month ago!” the chief said loud enough so everyone could hear him, but Tuffnut couldn’t believe it! For once in their life they were innocent, but everyone seemed to _want_ them to be guilty so damn much they were even lying to get them punished!

“She’s lying!” Ruffnut screamed and he was her echo. They didn’t do it!

“No one believes you girl!” Mildew shouted and the multitude agreed with him again “Will you follow tradition Stoick?!”

Ruffnut and he denied it again but no one in the crowd seemed to believe in them.

“Stoick, Vigdis is Fishfeather’s wife, you can’t take her seriously!” Oldnut yelled “Her husband was hurt and she was vengeance!”

The chief nodded and he looked at him pleading to him to believe in them, in the corner of his eye he could see Astrid talking to Hiccup but he could hear not a thing she was saying this time.

“You calling her a liar?!” the Ingerman clan-head yelled taking offense in having someone doubt in one of his clan’s word.

“She’s lying, what else could she be?!” their dad said boldly, it was an insult, but so was lying about something like this!

“Stoick, in who do you trust?” Mildew asked, the elder was trying really hard to make the chief pass judgment as soon as possible, if they get out of this mess he was going to prank the old-man until he dropped dead! “The spawns of Loki or a good woman?”

“Watch your mouth Mildew!” his dad yelled and Oldnut had to restrain him with the help of their cousins to keep him from attacking the elder.

But the warrior’s patience was short and they all wanted to know what their fate will be and they all believed Vigdis lies!

“Exile!”

“Exile!”

“Exile!”

Exile was slightly better than being treated like crazy people, but being exiled in the middle of winter only meant that they won’t die as fast!

His dad stopped trying to attack Mildew and embraced both of them tight enough to make breathing difficult, grand-uncle Oldnut was glaring at Vigdis but there was little else he could do, the other warriors from the Thorston clan all looked defeated and resigned. So this was how it ended?

It was kind of disappointing, he always thought his life would end with lots of fire and an explosion, and they couldn’t even go to Valhalla since they won’t die in battle…

“Dad!” Hiccup yelled stepping closer to the chief, somehow his voice was overheard above the chant of warriors. Stoick just looked at his son and indicated him to speak with just a nod of his head, the warriors stopped their chorus to listen to what the chief’s son had to say, He could have swear he heard Hiccup swallowing saliva right then. “Dad, last raid we lost Bjorn, Fishfeather won’t be fit to fight for months!” he didn’t know what to think about that and neither did the chief because he looked just as confused as he felt “We lost two warriors this winter already, if you exile them… we lose four!” that wasn’t good, was it? And many seemed to think the same and started to calm down.

“The tribe is already being soft with them, and you runt want them to get away with their crime?!” Mildew reproached and the warriors that had been thinking about not exiling them were becoming angry again!

“Get away with it?” Hiccup asked sounding confused and angry “Never! But I think another punishment should be given!” Astrid walked closer to Hiccup again and she stood at his side again but did nothing else. Looking around the Vikings were listening to what the heir had to say and he allowed himself to feel hope again, even if Hiccup still wanted to punish them he was saving them from exile and in their current circumstances that was the best they could get!

“Unacceptable!” Mildew yelled at top of his lungs while glaring at Hiccup “Tradition demands them to be exiled in the least!” the old man walked until he was right in front of Hiccup, forcing him to look up at him or step back, doing either of those things would weaken the chief’s point. Astrid took Hiccups hand with hers and Hiccup glared right back at the elder who continued speaking “Do you think you know better than the ancestors boy?!” the old-man taunted with a smirk on his face that only the chief’s family his twin and him could see.

“Yes, I do!” Hiccup said after a second, but he said it loud and clear, every Viking present must have heard him. ‘This is not good!’ he thought, even he knew Mildew used those words as bait because no one would dare to say what the Heir just said. “The ancestors didn’t knew everything, if they did we would have found the Nest hundreds of years ago!” that statement made everyone gasp, and Hiccup took that as a chance to say what he wanted “Exile the twins and we lose two trained warriors, Fishfeather won’t get to fight or work until early summer in the least. Or…” Tuffnut looked at the Heir, holding his breath waiting for the smallest Viking in his age group to give an alternative to banishment.

“Or…?” Stoick asked sounding curious as well.

“Or we let them stay and help us fight off the dragons but any spoil they get goes to Fishfeather until fall” Hiccup said trying to make it sound appealing.

Tuffnut breathed again, it was harsh for them, but at least they would be allowed to stay in the village. Taking a look around he could see the other Vikings were considering it. The chief was smiling, their dad wasn’t happy but made no protest, the Ingerman clan-head looked satisfied with the alternative.

”That won’t stop them from doing something like this again!” Mildew had to be the one to find the worm in the apple though “If we don’t _at least exile them_ it won’t be four warriors we lose but five or six or who knows how many?!” the elder faced the crowd “It could be anyone, every warrior would be at risk!”

It isn’t easy to scare a Hooligan warrior because here aren’t many things that can scare a group of people that regularly fought flying overgrown lizards that are equipped with not only fangs and claws but can also breathe fire! Well as it turns out, the prospect of dying because someone else was trying to be funny was one of those things, and it not only scared them, it also angered them as well.

“We are Vikings!” Hiccup yelled before the warriors could voice their discomfort “It’s an occupational hazard! Or someone here thinks fighting dragons it’s a risk-free job?” Hiccup finished saying and then he faced Mildew instead of the tribe’s warriors, at this point it became obvious that the two of them were pulling in opposite directions.

“Are you saying that we should just accept that we could die because of them? Those spawns of Loki will always be out of control, and we can’t allow them to keep going even if they keep forfeiting their loot rights form the raids! Next time someone could die! How do you decide how any carcasses are worth a Vikings’ life?!” Damn Mildew was good at riling up the tribe.

“They!” Hiccup said extending his hand in their direction “Won’t do anything like this again, they never harmed anyone like this before and I’m sure they never wanted to hurt anyone to begin with and I’m sure they’ll never attempt something that would result on something like this ever again!” Hiccup last statement was in reality a question for them, it couldn’t be interpreted any other way with the way he was looking at them and he would accept only one answer in his mind, Ruffnut and he looked at each other and they knew they agreed to say the same thing.

“But we didn’t do it!” they said at the same time, but like earlier no one believed them.

“Everyone knows it was them, Vigdis testimony against them and they keep lying!” Tuffnut glared at the elder but it had no effect on him “I can guarantee something like this will happen again!” Why was Mildew so interested on blaming the? Was he really that convinced it was them? Honestly he couldn’t think of a reason big enough to want them gone that badly.

“And I guarantee they won’t!” at this point he was also beginning to ask himself why Hiccup was defending them like that, but by Loki he couldn’t think of a reason beyond riling Mildew up, he was not complaining though. For him riling Mildew would be good enough but Hiccup wasn’t like that.

“You guarantee it? Who do you think you are, Runt?!” Mildew scoffed dismissing Hiccup’s declaration as soon as he heard it.

“I am the Tribe’s Heir!” yeah, that’s who Hiccup is, he honestly forgot about it but he couldn’t have been happier to have him on his side… even if he was trying to punish him as well and for a moment he felt happy to not being Mildew because he was just been ridiculed in front of every warrior on Berk! Of course that only lasted a second because he was in a worse position than the elder.

“Well, if you’ll take responsibility for them as the _Tribe’s Heir_ I have no objections.” Mildew smiled as if he had just won the argument and he didn’t liked it… not one bit.

“Hiccup, son, are you sure?” the chief asked looking worried “You don’t have to do this, it’s a big responsibility.”

Hiccup looked at his father and he had listened, there was doubt on his face but not for long “Dad… Father, one day not only the twins but the whole tribe will be my responsibility, they will be good practice.” Hiccup said solemnly while looking at the chief in the eyes.

“Spitelout can you take care of the reconstructions in the village?” Stoick asked and the Jorgenson nodded and smiled at the chief’s request “Ticknut, Oldnut, we’ll talk in my hut bring the twins too… Hiccup you and Astrid must come as well.” All of the Vikings the chief named nodded and walked towards Haddock Hall.

0x0x0

Mildew returned to his home with a smile on his face. It took some time but his patience was rewarded tonight, sure, it wasn’t a total success but the bet he made with the Jorgenson lad right after the last Thing paid off tonight.

The Jorgenson boy, Snotlout really put his _advice_ in practice!

The fool really sabotaged the village’s weapons and as a result a man lost a limb! Not that he cared, the man was not his kin, why should he care?

No one in the whole damn island was related to him in any way, shape or form, so if he had no use for them they were expendable, like that Fishfeather and his wife. Unlike that Snotlout boy.

He still has uses for him, he will be a valuable instrument to get rid of the Haddocks and he already has a leverage on him, he was the only one that knew what really happened in this raid, he knew who the real culprit was!

And with time he will get more as the lad puts his _advices_ in practice.

Who knows how many tries it will take to get rid of Stoick’s runt?

He will survive the raids if what he has heard was true. And what he’s heard is that the hiccup is a coward that doesn’t look for glory the way a true Viking should and preferred to stay back and guard the food.

It disgusted him, a Viking was supposed to seek glory and honor to secure a place in the Palace of Valhalla and that Runt was supposed to have a place secured at the Table of the Kings was like a professional insult to a dragon-slayer of unparalleled skill like him.

But tonight he started on the road that will have him removed from that undeserved privilege. He would have liked to achieve that earlier that night but that insufferable blacksmith protected him from the backlash of his manipulations.

It wasn’t a total waste though, and he got something even better than he was aiming for when the hiccup volunteered to take responsibility for the twin’s future misdeeds and though right now Stoick must be done scaring them to make sure his _hiccup_ won’t lose any face with the villagers it won’t be hard to get those two to do something that will negatively affect the current Heir and if not… framing them has been proved something easy to accomplish.

0x0x0

“We didn’t do it!” Haddock Hall’s door was not yet fully closed when the Thorston lad said that, personally he wasn’t sure what to think.

The Thorston twins are notorious for their pranks but have never done something so potentially lethal before. If he had to guess he’d say that they didn’t do it based on their reactions, when they were caught in the past the always showed a certain degree of pride and talked about the actions involved in their prank, this time they were just scared, and with reason. Frankly, if they weren’t he would have sent them to Njord tied to a raft by now.

On the other hand they aren’t stupid and could be just realizing how bad their idea was and were trying to look like it wasn’t them this time… that was always a possibility.

Vigdis testimony changed things for the worse as far as he was concerned. In his opinion it shouldn’t have been taken seriously… she was the wife of the warrior that lost a limb tonight and she wanted a culprit to pay for it, and she thought the twins did it like most of the tribe.

If not for Hiccup he would have to put them in a raft and that in turn would make him extremely unpopular with the Thorstons. The problems wouldn’t have ended there though, the Thorstons would start an undeclared blood feud with the Ingermans.

He looked at Astrid, the lass was talking to Hiccup’s ear earlier, most likely asking him to help her friends… not something unexpected nor unheard of, but he still didn’t liked it.

“I don’t care if you idiots did it or not!” at this point he really didn’t “What I care about is the fat that my Heir is now going to be held responsible for your actions!” it probably was the best possible outcome of tonight’s disastrous raid but it felt like they were just postponing their punishment and Hiccup’s head will be in the chopping block along with theirs the next time.

“I’ll make sure they behave in the future chief!” Ticknut said hastily, trying to appease him.

“I know you’ll try Ticknut,” he said doing his best to remain calm, the man himself was guilty of nothing “but you understand that I want to make sure my son won’t pay for something your children might do.” He glared at the twins for good measure.

“My clan owns your son a debt of honor Stoick, I’ll ask for my kin’s help to keep them out of trouble, you can count on that!” Oldnut said with an air of finality and glared at the twins to convey his point, which was a compromise from the whole clan.

He nodded “You do that,” he said and then turned to the twins “You both own my son a debt, so next time you think about doing something stupid I want you to remember that!” they limited themselves to look at the floor and nod to indicated they understood.

“Stoick…” Astrid said his name to get his attention “maybe Ruffnut could come a few days of the week to help me in the hut? Weaving and spinning are not meant to be done alone and I could keep an eye on her that way.” She said, he knew it was an excuse to talk to the Thorston girl and he wasn’t exactly happy with his daughter-in-law but she had a good point, if he could do something like that with the lad and Hiccup he would be more at ease… something to think about in the future.

“Ticknut?” he asked knowing that the man had no choice but to agree.

“Of course Lady Astrid.” Ticknut said with a well concealed scowl on his face.

Astrid had the smallest smile he’s ever seen on her lips and nodded.

“Lad you better behave from now on!” he was still not happy about this, not only they might do something that would get them and Hiccup in trouble in the future, there was also the fact that Vigdis proved that it was easy to frame them “You can go now.” He said dismissing the Thorstons.

Once they were alone he turned and looked at his son who stayed silent the whole time since they entered their hut “Son, I’m proud of you…” he said, there was no denying it “But please don’t do this again, Mildew will be watching like a hawk to get the twins and you in trouble from now on.

He gave a light glare at Astrid before going out himself “You can rest until dawn, after that Hiccup you go to Gobber’s shop and help.”

**END OF BOOK I**

**A/N: there you have it folks, this is the last chapter of the year, I’ll be going into a hiatus to sort my personal life and I hope to return next year sometime in January or February.**

**I’ll try to keep planning the story’s plot though.**

**So what do my dear readers think of this last chapter? The twins were effectively stunned the whole chapter. Astrid did ask Hiccup for help and kind of encouraged him from the side during his little argument with Mildew…**

**See you next year :).**


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